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The Blue Book 



OF 



STORIES FOR 



CHARACTER TRAINING 



BY 



M; L. BRITTAIN 

STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
ATLANTA, GA. 



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1915 

BYRD PRINTING COMPANY 
ATLANTA 



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COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR 



D. Of D m 

MAY 12 1919 



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THIS FIRST EDITION OF THIS LITTLE BOOK IS 

DEDICATED AND PRESENTED BY THE AUTHOR 

AND COMPILER TO THE SCHOOL OFFICIALS 

OF GEORGIA IN GRATITUDE FOR THE 

CORDIAL UNANIMITY OF THEIR 

SUPPORT AND AID 



THE BLUE BOOK 5 



CONTENTS 



I. THE CIVIC VIRTUES. 

Page 

Honesty: The Duke and the Boy 11 

Obedience: The Courageous Boy - 13 

Politeness : The Story of John Rockmore 14 

Trustworthiness : The Message of Garcia 16 

Truthfulness : A Story of George Washington 18 

II. POSITIVE. VIRTUES TO BE ADMIRED. 

Ambition: The Tortoise and the Eagle 20 

Attention : The Stolen Venison 21 

Bravery: The Brave Three Hundred 22 

Character : The Great Stone Face 24 

Consideration : The Lion and the Mouse 26 

Contentment : Tire Miller of the Dee 27 

Courtesy: A Story of Sir Walter Raleigh 28 

Disdain : The Bald Man and the Fly 30 

Economy : The Contribution 30 

Fidelity: The Faithful Little Hollander 31 

Forgiveness : From the Life of General Lee 32 

Friendship : Damon and Pythias 33 

Gratitude : The Ant and the Dove 35 

Helpfulness : Imparting Strength 35 

Humility: The Story of Cincinnatus 36 

Industry: The Grasshopper and the Bee 38 

Joy : The Singer 39 

Justice : Aristides 40 

Keeping a Promise : The Story of Regulus 41 

Kindness: The Story of teir Bartle Frere 43 

Manners : In Public Places 44 

Mercy : Pocahontas 46 

Neatness : The Boy Who Recommended Himself .... 48 

Observation : The Careful Observer 49 

Opportunities : The Talents 50 

Order : Order in the House 52 

Patience under Difficulties : Salamanders 53 

Overcoming Difficulties: The Story of Demosthenes' 54 

Patriotism : Nathan Hale 55 

Perseverance: Bruce and the Spider 57 

Reverence : The Palladium 59 



6 THE BLUE BOOK 



Page 

Self -Control: "Will Power ." 60 

Self -Government : The Story of a Wise Man 61 

Self -Eeliance : The Lark and the Farmer 62 

Self -Sacrifice : A Few Instances of Self -Sacrifice ... 63 

Slow but Sure : The Hare and the Tortoise 64 

Thoroughness : Thoroughness Always Pays . . 65 

Temperance: The Abstainer's Creed 66 

Unity : The Father and His Sons 67 

Unselfishness : Sir Phillip Sidney 68 

III. NEGATIVE. FAULTS TO BE SHUNNED. 

Conceit: The Frog and the Ox 69 

Boasting: The Travellers and the Bear 70 

Deception : The Shepherd ; s Boy 71 

Cruelty : A Cruel Boy 72 

Egotism: The Egotistic Senator 73 

Envy : The Fishermen .- 74 

Exaggeration : The Three Black Crows 75 

Familiarity: The Fox and the Lion 76 

Extravagance : The Whistle 77 

Fear : The Pilgrims and the Plague 78 

Fickleness: The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts... 79 

Flattery: The Fox and the Crow 80 

Foppery : Foppery and Courage „ . . . 81 

Idleness: Utilization of Spare Moments' 82 

Imperfect Judgment: The Blind Men and the 

Elephant 84 

Inattention : The Glory of a Stainless Life 85 

Ingratitude: The Farmer and the Snake 86 

Lost Opportunities : Give God Your Best 87 

Pleasing Everybody: The Man, the Boy, and the 

Donkey 88 

Popularity : The Hare with Many Friends 90 

Pride: The Lords of the Isles 91 

Procrastination : Facts about a Few Great Men .... 92 

Illustration : The Magic Skin 93 

Revenge : An Eastern Story 94 

Self-interest : The Fox without a Tail 95 

Slander : The Slanderer 96 

Stinginess: Anecdote of Burns 97 

Treachery: The Just Eeward of Treachery 98 

Tyranny: The Frogs Desiring a King , 99 

Vanity : The Maid and the Eggs 100 



THE BLUE BOOK 7 

Page 
IV. GENERAL. 

Axe to Grind : A Story of Franklin 101 

Choosing Companions : The Two Dogs 102 

Christianity: Beecher and Ingersoll 103 

Compensation: The Town Mouse and the Country 

Mouse 104 

Discipline : Trained by Discipline 105 

Duty : Among the Euins of Pompeii 106 

Education : The Jukes and Edwards 107 

Eloquence : Whitfield 108 

Habits : Starting Right .• 109 

Humble Beginnings: Humble Beginnings of a Few 

Famous Persons Ill 

Learning: Read and You Will Know 112 

Luoerty: Arnold Winkelreid 113 

Life: Life 118 

Reading: Carefulness in reading. . 119 

Riches : Solon 120 

Soul : In a Glass Case 121 

The True Gentleman: A Definition 122 

Two Sides to a Question: The Lion and the Statue 123 

Truth : Statue of Truth 1^4 

V. SPECIAL DAYS. 

Arbor Day: A Warning from History. . 125 

Bird Day: Our Feathered Friends . 127 

Georgia Day: Georgia in Outline 130 

Health Day: My Health Creed 134 

Labor Day: Origin of Labor Day 135 

Lee's Birthday: The Sword of Robert Lee 136 

Library Day: What a Library Does for a Town. . . . 139 

Memorial Day: The Courtesy of Robert E. Lee. . . . 140 

Thanksgiving Day: The Origin of Thanksgiving Day 144 

Washington's Birthday: Life Outline 146 



Mv Creeb 



I am to be a citizen of Georgia and the United 
States, a great commonwealth of the world's greatest 
land. It is my duty to make an honest living and my 
right to be healthy and happy. It is my privilege to 
help others also to secure these benefits. I will work 
and play fair. I will be polite always to old people 
and kind to the unfortunate and to my little brethren 
of the field and of the air. To the best of my ability, 
I expect to make Georgia a clean, beautiful, and law- 
abiding state, for this is the best service I may render 
to the land that has given me birth. 



THE BLUE B OK 9 



PREFACE 



There should be a definite purpose on the part of 
every teacher to have character training as an im- 
portant feature of the school work. Unless this is 
done, there is a chance for making increased mental 
development a greater source of danger. The ability 
to read, to write, and to calculate — in other words, mere 
mental training — -does not necessarily make one better 
morally or spiritually. While it is true that ignorance 
cures nothing, yet it ought to be just as clearly under- 
stood that education, unless it be distinctively moral, 
as well as mental, will not diminish crime. Here and 
there in some of the books, there is help of an inci- 
dental kind and mere habits of obedience are of value 
in this direction. Character training should not be 
left to chance or to the individual whim of the in- 
structor, but should be recognized as a fixed part of 
the school program. In my opinion, the best way to 
make teaching of this sort bear fruit, is to utilize the 
opening exercises for this purpose. Most schools 
have a song, reading of the Scripture, or prayer, and 
sometimes all three. They are generally perfunctory 
and are recognized as such by both teacher and pupil. 
Instead of this, we ought to take advantage of these 
occasions to give distinctive and definite character 
training and, to aid in this, no better help can be 
found than to make use of the illustration, anecdote, 
or — as our Saviour termed it — the parable. A vivid, 
well-told stoiy, illustrating honesty, obedience or cour- 



10 THE BLUE BOOK 

age, will be remembered by the child long after any 
dissertation or homily by the teacher. Believing 
clearly in the value of this, the following exercises 
have been arranged. They are in no sense original. 
In fact, the best the author could find in literature 
anywhere to serve his purpose have been selected, 
Aesop's Famous Classics, Marden's Inspirational Se- 
ries, Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories, and Percy's 
Anecdotes being particularly helpful. Songs and 
passages of Scripture, bearing on the subject 
to be taught, occasionally have been added. These, 
however, need not be used except at the dis- 
cretion of the teacher. What is insisted upon is 
that a few minutes each morning be given to incul- 
cating the civic virtues and, to do this most effec- 
tively, the suggestion is made that the stories be 
presented orally, rather than read. "Tell us a story" 
is the age-old request of the child and skillful teachers 
will take advantage of this craving and use it to 
establish high ideals in the minds and hearts of our 
future citizens. 

M. L. Brittaust, 
State Superintendent, of Schools. 



THE BLUE BOOK 11 



HONESTY 



Song: "Yield Not to Temptation." 
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 7: 1-13. 
Illustration: The Duke and the Boy. 



A Scotch nobleman, who was very fond of farming, 
had bought a cow from a gentleman who lived near 
him. 

The cow was to be sent home next morning. 

Early in the morning, as the duke was taking a 
walk, he saw a boy trying in vain to drive the co^ 
to his house. The cow was very unruly and the poor 
boy could not manage her at all. 

The boy, not knowing the duke, bawled out to him, 
"Hallo, man ! Come here and help me with this 
beast." The duke walked slowly on, not seeming to 
notice the boy, who still kept calling for his help. 
At last, finding that he could not get on with the cow, 
he cried out in distress, "Come here, man, and help 
me, and I'll give you half of whatever I get." 

The duke went and lent a helping hand. 

"And now," said the duke, as they trudged on 
after the cow, "how much do you think you will get 
for the job?" 

"I don't know," said the boy, "but I am sure of 
something because the folks up at the big house are 
good to everybody." 

On coming to a lane near the house, the duke slipped 
away from the boy, and reached the house by a dif- 



12 THfi BLUE B K 

ferent road. Calling a servant, he put a sovereign 
into his hand, saying, "Give that to the boy who 
brought the cow." 

He then returned to the end of the lane, where he 
had parted from the boy, so as to meet him on his 
way back. 

"Well, how much did you get," asked the duke. 

"A shilling," said the boy, "and here's half of it 
for you." 

"But surely you got more than a shilling'?" said 
the duke. 

"No," said the boy, "that is all I got, and I think 
it quite enough." 

"I do not," said the duke, "there must be something 
wrong; and as I am a friend of the duke, if you will 
return, I think I'll see that you get more." 

The boy went back. The duke rang the bell, and 
ordered all the servants assembled. 

"Now," said the duke to the boy, "point me out 
the person who gave you the shilling." 

"It was that man there," he said, pointing to the 
butler. 

The butler fell on his knees, confessed his fault, and 
begge'd to be forgiven; but the duke ordered him to 
give the boy the sovereign, and quit his service at 
one. "You have lost," said the duke, "both your 
place and your character, by your deceit. Learn for 
the future that honesty is the best policy." 

The boy now found out who it was that had helped 
him drive the cow; and the duke was so pleased with 
the manliness and honesty of the boy, that he sent 
him to school, and paid for his tuition out of his own 
pocket. 

— From The Royal Readers. 



THE BLUE BOOK 13 



OBEDIENCE 



Song: "Trust and Obey." 

Scripture Reading : Proverbs 30 : 17. 

Illustration : The Courageous Boy. 



In England, one day, a farmer at work in his fields 
saw a party of huntsmen riding over his farm. He 
had a field in which the wheat was just coming up, 
and he was anxious that the gentlemen should not go 
into that, as the trampling of the horses and dogs 
would spoil the crop. 

So he sent one of his farm hands, a bright young 
boy, to shut the gate of that field and to keep guard 
over it. He told him that he must on no account 
permit the gate to be opened. 

Scarcely had the boy reached the field and closed 
the gate when the huntsmen reached the field and 
came galloping up, ordering him to open the gate. 
This the boy declined to do. 

"Master," said he, "has ordered me to permit no 
one to pass through this gate, and I can neither open 
it myself nor allow anyone else to do it." 

First one gentleman threatened to thrash him if he 
did not open it; then another offered him a sovereign; 
but all to no effect. The brave boy was neither 
frightened nor to be bribed. 

Then a grand and stately gentleman came forward 
and said: "My boy, do you not know me! I am the 
Duke of Wellington — one not accustomed to be dis- 
obeyed; and I command you to open that gate, that 
I and my friends may pass." 



14 THE BLUE BO OK 

The boy took off his hat to the great man whom all 
England delighted to honor, and answered: 

"I am sure the Duke of Wellington would not wish 
me to disobey orders. I must keep this gate shut, 
nor permit anyone to pass without my master's ex- 
press permission/' 

The brave old warrior was greatly pleased at the 
boy's answer, and lifting his own hat, he said : 

"I honor the man or boy who can neither be bribed 
nor frightened into doing wrong. With an army of 
such soldiers I could conquer, not only the French, 
but the whole world." 

— Appleton's Third Beadier. 



POLITENESS 



Song: "Sweet and Low." 

Scripture Reading : Proverbs 15 : 1-10. 

Illustration : The Story of John Rockmore. 



A curious fact in the etymology of words is that 
those connected with civility are associated with city 
or town. Urbane, for instance, comes from the Latin 
"urbs," and politeness from the Greek "polis," both 
of these words meaning city. Those who knew John 
Rockmore, of Newton County, Georgia, will dispute 
the claim that these gentler qualities are inherent in 
urban life, however. He was the most polite man 
known to all his neighbors and friends and he never 
lived a day in a city or town. 



THE BLUE BO OK 15 

So characteristic was it of him that it was expressed 
in the nickname which stuck to him throughout 
his life — "Thank you/' John Rockmore. His rul- 
ing passion was, it seemed, to do a favor, if possible, 
and his pleasure on the receipt of one was equally 
marked. Instead of contending for one-half the road 
or sidewalk, he would give it all and more, if desired. 
No lady ever passed him without seeing his hat re- 
moved and receiving a bow. So deeply rooted were 
courtesy and politeness in his nature that they were 
strikingly characteristic, even on those rare occa- 
sions when he was compelled to show indignation, or 
anger. 

With a neighbor he once went to his county town, 
Covington, for the purpose of selling his cotton. It 
was during the days when whiskey was sold in bar- 
rooms and the neighbor became intoxicated. When in 
this condition, he grossly insulted Mr. Rockmore, and 
although John was a rather old man at this time and 
a deacon in the Baptist church, the insults continued 
until patience ceased to be a virtue. Then with de- 
liberation, he removed his coat and said : "You must 
excuse me, sir, but I shall have to knock you down." 
And suiting the action to the word, he did so. The 
neighbor, still reviling him, John was compelled to 
continue the fight. "Sir," he said, " I beg your par- 
don, but I see the Lord intends for me to teach you 
a lesson." And he knocked him clown again. This 
continued until the drunkard was conquered, either 
by his neighbor's politeness, or by his big fists, and 
ceased his abuse. 

John helped him up and apologized for having 
been compelled to hurt him, and all his life he grieved 
over the occurrence. 

What a blessing to us all if all boys and girls 



16 THE BLUE BOOK 

were marked by this quality! Courthouses and jails 
would need and receive far less attention and support 
and the fair name of the State would never be dis- 
graced by the lawless lynchings and outrages which 
have too frequently caused every thoughtful citizen to 
feel sorrow and shame. 

— M. L. B. 



TRUSTWORTHINESS 



Song: "Georgia Land." 

Scripture Reading: Genesis 41:38-49. The 

Story of Joseph. 

Illustration: The Message to Garcia. 



One of the most-admired stories told in connection 
with the war between Spain and the United States was 
Elbert Hubbard's account of the message to Garcia. 
This general was somewhere in the interior of Cuba 
and could not be reached by mail or telegraph, and 
yet it was important that President McKinley should 
communicate with him at once. Some official at 
Washington made the remark that a man by the name 
of Rowan would find Garcia if anybody could, and to 
him McKinley entrusted the letter. Without a word 
or question, the young man took the message, wrapped 
it securely, and bound it around his waist. Within 
less than a week he landed, during the night, at 
an unfortified point on the Cuban coast. Entering 
the swamp and going over the mountains, be found 



THE BLUE B OK 17 

General Garcia and delivered President McKinley's 
letter. 

The deed itself was undoubtedly heroic and worthy 
of admiration. The application, however, drawn by 
the writer was the efficiency and trustworthiness of 
Rowan, and especially his silent obedience, without 
asking the eternal question, "Where is he at?" As 
he further expresses it: 

"Rowan is a man whose form should be cast in 
deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college 
in the land. It is not so much booklearning young 
people need, nor instruction about this and that, but a 
stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to 
be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their 
energies : do the thing — 'Carry a message to Garcia/ " 

Summon the ordinary clerk and make this request : 
"Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief 
memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio." 

"Will the clerk quietly say, "Yes, sir/ 7 and go do 
the task? 

On your life he will not. He will look at you out 
of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following 
questions : 

Who was he? 

Which encyclopedia? 

Where is the encyclopedia? 

Was I hired for that? 

Don't you mean Bismarck? 

What's the matter with Charlie doing it? 

Is he dead? 

Is there any hurry? 

Shan't I bring you the book and let you look it up 
yourself ? 

What do you want to know for? 

And I will lay you ten to one that after you have 



18 THE BLUE BOOK 

answered the questions and explained how to find 
the information, and why you want it, the clerk will 
go off and get one of the other clerks to help him 
try to find Garcia — and then come back and tell you 
that there is no such man. 

My heart goes out to the man who does his work 
when the "boss" is away, as well as when he is at 
home. And the man, who, when given a letter for 
Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking an TT 
idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of 
chucking it into the nearest sewer, or doing aught 
else but deliver it, never gets "laid off," nor has to 
go on a strike for higher wages. Civilization is one 
long anxious search for just such individuals. Any- 
thing such a man asks shall be granted. He is wanted 
in every city, town and village — in every office, shop, 
store and f actorv. The world cries out for such : he is 
needed, and needed badly — the man who can "CARRY 
A MESSAGE TO GARCIA." 



TRUTHFULNESS 



Song: "How Firm a Foundation." 
Scripture Reading : Proverbs 12 : 17-22. 
Illustration. 



When George Washington was quite a little boy, 
his father gave him a hatchet. It was bright and new, 
and George took great delight in going about and 
chopping things with it. 

He ran into the garden, and there he saw a tree 
which seemed to say to him, "Come and cut me down !" 



THE BLUE B OK 11) 

George had often seen his father's men chop down 
the great trees in the forest, and he thought that it 
would be fine sport to see this tree fall with a crash 
to the ground. So he set to work with his little hatchet, 
and, as the tree was a very small one, it did not 
take long to lay it low. Soon after that, his father 
came home. 

"Who has been cutting my fine young cherry 
tree?" he cried. "It was the only tree of its kind in 
this country, and it cost me a great deal of money." 

He was very angry when he came into the house. 

"If I only knew who killed that cherry tree," he 
cried, "I. would — yes, I would"' — 

"Father!" cried little George. "I will tell you the 
truth about it. I chopped the tree down with my 
hatchet." 

His father forgot his anger. 

"George," he said, and he took the little fellow in 
his arms, "George, I am glad that you told me about 
it. I would rather lose a dozen cherry trees than that 
you should tell one falsehood." 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



20 THE BLUE BOOK 



AMBITION 



Song : "Rise, My Soul, and Stretch Thy Wings." 
Scripture Reading : Matthew 20 : 20-29. 
Illustration : The Tortoise and the Eagle. 



A tortoise, lazily basking in the sun, complained to 
the sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would 
teach her to fly. 

An eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and 
demanded what reward she would give him if he 
would take her aloft and float her in the air. 

"I will give you," she said, "all the riches of the 
Red Sea." 

"I will teach you to fly then," said the eagle; and, 
taking her up in his talons, he carried her almost to 
the clouds, when, suddenly letting her go, she fell 
on a lofty mountain and dashed her shell to pieces. 
The tortoise exclaimed in the moment of death : "I 
have deserved my present fate; for what had I to 
do with wings and clouds, who can with difficulty 
move about the earth"?" 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE B K 21 



ATTENTION 



Song : "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." 
Scripture Reading : Proverbs 9 : 1-12. 
Illustration : The Stolen Venison. 



The power of observation in the American Indian 
would put many an educated man to shame. Return- 
ing home, an Indian discovered that his venison, which 
had been hanging up to dry, had been stolen. After 
careful observation he started to track the thief 
through the woods. Meeting a man on the route, he 
asked him if he had seen a little old white man, with 
a short gun, and with a small, bob-tailed dog. The 
man told him that he had met such a man, but was 
surprised to know that the Indian had not even seen 
the one he described. He asked the Indian how he 
could give such a minute description of one he had 
never seen. "I knew the thief was a little man," said 
the Indian, "because he rolled up a stone to stand on 
in order to reach the venison; I knew he was a white 
man by his turning his toes out in walking, which an 
Indian never does; I knew he was an old man by his 
short steps; I knew he had a short gun by the mark 
it left on the tree where he stood it up; I knew the 
dog was small by his tracks and short steps, and that 
he had a bob-tail bv the mark it left in the dust where 
he sat." 

— Marden. 



22 THE BLUE BO OK 



BRAVERY 



Song: "The Soldiers' Chorus." 

Scripture Reading : I Samuel 17 : 38-50. Da- 
vid and Goliath. 

Illustration : The Brave Three Hundred. 



All Greece was in danger. A mighty army, led by 
the great King of Persia, had come from the East. It 
was marching along the seashore, and in a few days 
would be in Greece. The great king had sent messen- 
gers into every city and state, bidding them to give 
him water and earth in token that the land and sea 
were his. But they said — 

"No : we will be free." 

And so there was a great stir throughout all the 
land. The men armed themselves, and made haste to 
go out and drive back their foe ; and the women stayed 
at home, weeping and waiting, and trembling with 
fear. 

There was only one way by which the Persian army 
could go into Greece on that side, and that was by a 
narrow pass between the mountains and the sea. This 
pass was guarded by Leonidas, the King of the Spar- 
tans, with three hundred Spartan soldiers. 

Soon the Persian soldiers were seen coming. There 
were so many of them that no man could count them. 
How could a handful of men hope to stand against 
so great a host*? 

And yet Leonidas and his Spartans held their 



THE BLUE B OK 23 

ground. They had made up their minds to die at their 
post. Some one brought them word that there were 
so many Persians that their arrows darkened the sun. 

"So much the better," said the Spartans, "we shall 
fight in the shade." 

Bravely they stood in the narrow pass. Bravely 
they faced their foes. To Spartans there was no such 
thing as fear. The Persians came forward, only to 
meet death at the points of their spears. 

But one by one the Spartans fell. At last their 
spears were broken; yet they still stood side by side, 
fighting to the last. Some fought with swords, some 
with daggers, and some only with their fists and teeth. 

All day long the army of the Persians was kept at 
bay. But when the sun went down, there was not one 
Spartan left alive. Where they had stood, there was 
only a heap of slain, all bristled over with spears and 
arrows. 

Twenty thousand Persian soldiers had fallen be- 
fore that handful of men. And Greece was saved. 

Thousands of years have passed since then ; . but 
men still like to tell the story of Leonidas and the 
brave three hundred who died for their country's sake. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



24 THE BLUE B OK 



CHARACTER 



Song: "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." 
Scripture Reading : Daniel 1 : 9-17. 
Illustration: The Great Stone Face. 



Insensibly we grow to be like that which we ad- 
mire. Vicious thoughts and habits will, in time, be 
indexed in the actions of the possessor. On the other 
hand, beautiful thoughts and desires will be likewise 
written in the countenance. This truth is illustrated 
by one of our great American writers, Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne, in his story of the Great Stone Face. 

This was a freak of nature which is still to be seen 
in the White Hills of New England, where the granite 
formation on one side of the mountain is such as to 
look like a man's head. 

The people who lived in that vicinity had a legend 
among themselves that some one of their number would 
become the noblest man of his time and would grow to 
look exactly like the Great Stone Face. 

There was a little boy called Ernest who lived there 
and w T ho had studied it many times. 

One day a rich merchant who had been born there, 
returned after a long life spent in securing wealth. 
His name was Mr. Gathergold. The people looked 
forward to his coming, thinking that perhaps he was 
the great character for whom they had been waiting. 
When Ernest saw the sharp features of the old miser 
he turned away sadly, knowing that he could not be 
the one. 



THE BLUE BOOK 25 

Later, when Ernest had grown to be a youth, 
another native of the region who had distinguished 
himself in war, returned. Old-Blood-and-Thunder 
was the title by which he was known, and so 
great was his fame, many people thought he must 
surely be the man of whom the legend told. There 
was will expressed in his features, but the wisdom 
of the granite face was totally absent from his coun- 
tenance. Ernest was disappointed again. 

The youth grew into middle life and again a native 
who had won reputation came into the valley, hoping 
to be known as the original of the granite-hewn fea- 
tures. This man was a statesman, renowned for his 
eloquence. But there was something lacking, as there 
had been with the others, when the people compared 
the features of the public man with those of the moun- 
tain side; something of divine sympathy and sublim- 
ity of purpose. 

Years passed and the boy, Ernest, now growing 
toward old age, was noted for his kindness and for 
his character. Day by day thinking of the nobility 
expressed in the lineaments of the Great Stone Face, 
he had caught something of the greatness of spirit 
which he associated with those features until he could 
not himself do anything low or mean, but was noted 
among the people for the beauty of his splendid life. 

One evening at the hour of sunset, he was speaking 
to his neighbors from a small elevation near the loved 
figure on the mountain side. They were moved by his 
thoughts, because they knew they accorded with his 
daily life. Finally, as his features were thrown into 
relief by the setting sun in such way as to afford them 
a means of comparison between his own countenance 
and that sculptured in the granite near him, they were 
astonished to find that they appeared much alike and 



26 THE BLUE BOOK 

they all said: "Ernest is the one. He is like the 
Great Stone Face." 



Thoughts make words, 
Words make deeds, 
Deeds form character, 
Character determines destiny. 



CONSIDERATION 



Illustration : The Lion and the Mouse. 



A lion was awakened from sleep by a mouse run- 
ning over his face. Rising up in anger, he caught 
him and was about to kill him, when the mouse pite- 
ously entreated, saying: "If you would only spare 
my life, I would be sure to repay you for your kind- 
ness." The lion laughed and let him go. 

It happened shortly after this that the lion was 
caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong 
ropes to the ground. The mouse, recognizing his roar, 
came up and gnawed the ropes with his teeth, setting 
him free, and exclaimed: "You ridiculed the idea of 
my ever being able to help you, not expecting to re- 
ceive from me any repayment of your favor; but now 
you know that it is possible for even a mouse to 
confer favor on a lion." 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE B K 27 



CONTENTMENT 



Illustration : The Miller of the Dee. 



Once upon a time there lived on the banks of the 
River Dee a miller, who was the happiest man in 
England. He was always busy from morning till 
night, and was always singing as merrily as any lark. 
He was so cheerful that he made everybody else cheer- 
ful; and people all over the land liked to talk about 
his pleasant ways. At last the king heard about him. 

"I will go down and talk to this wonderful miller/' 
said he; "perhaps he can tell me how to be happy." 

As soon as he stepped inside of the mill, he heard 
the miller singing — 

"I envy nobody — no, not I ! — 
For I am as happy as I can be; 
And nobody envies me." 

"You're wrong, my friend," said the king. "You're 
wrong as wrong can be. I envy you; and I would 
gladly change places with you, if I could only be as 
light-hearted as you are." 

The miller smiled and bowed to the king. 

"I am sure I could not think of changing places 
with you, sir," he said. 

"Now tell me," said the king, "what makes you so 
cheerful and glad here in your dusty mill, while I, 
who am king, am sad and in trouble every day?" 

The miller smiled again, and said, "I do not know 
why you are sad, but I can easily tell why I am glad. 
I earn my own bread ; I love my wife and my children ; 
I love my friends, and they love me; and I owe not 



28 THE BLUE B OK 

a penny to any man. Why should I not be happy ? 
For here is the River Dee, and every day it turns 
my mill; and the mill grinds the corn that feeds my 
babes and me." 

"Say no more," said the king. "Stay where you 
are and be happy still. But I envy you. Your dusty 
cap is worth more than my golden crown. Your mill 
does more for you than my kingdom can do for me. 
If there were more such men as you, what a good 
place this world would be ! Good-bye, my friend !" 

The king turned about, and walked sadly away; and 
the miller went back to his work, singing — ■ 

"Oh, I'm as happy as happy can be, 
For I live by the side of the River Dee." 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



COURTESY 



Illustration : Sir Walter Raleigh. 



There once lived in England a brave and noble 
man whose name was Walter Raleigh. He was not 
only brave and noble, but he was also courteous; and 
for that reason the queen made him a knight, and 
called him Sir Walter Raleigh. 

When Raleigh was a young man, he was one day 
walking along a street in London. At that time the 
streets were not paved, and there were no side-walks. 
Raleigh was dressed in very fine style, and he wore a 
beautiful scarlet coat thrown over his shoulders. 

As he passed along, he found it hard work to keep 
from stepping in the mud, and soiling his handsome 



T II E BLUE BOOK -29 

new shoes. Soon he came to a puddle of muddy water 
which reached from one side of the street to the other. 
He could not step across. Perhaps he could not jump 
across it. 

As he was thinking what he should do, he happened 
to look up. Who was it coming down the street, on 
the other side of the puddle ? 

It was Elizabeth, the Queen of England, with her 
train of gentlewomen and waiting maids. She saw 
the dirty puddle in the street. She saw the handsome 
young man with the scarlet cloak standing by the 
side of it. How was she to get across 1 ? 

Young Raleigh, when he saw who was coming, for- 
got about himself. He thought only of helping the 
queen. There was only one thing that he could do, 
and no other man thought of that. 

He took off his scarlet cloak and spread it across 
the puddle. The queen could step on it now as on a 
beautiful carpet. 

She walked across. She was safely over the ugly 
mud, and her feet had not touched it. She paused a 
moment, and thanked the young man. 

As she walked onward with her train, she asked one 
of the gentlewomen, "Who is that brave gentleman 
who helped us so handsomely?" 

"His name is Walter Raleigh," said the gentlewoman. 

"He shall have his reward," said the queen. 

Not long after that, she sent for Raleigh to come 
to her palace. 

The young man went, but he had no scarlet coat to 
wear. Then, while all the great men and fine ladies 
of England stood around, the queen made him a 
knight. And from that time he was known as Sir 
Walter Raleigh, the queen's favorite. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories , 



30 THE BLUE BO OK 



DISDAIN 



Illustration : The Bald Man and the Fly. 



There was once a bald man who came and sat down 
after work on a hot summer's day. A fly came up 
and kept buzzing about his bald pate, and stinging 
him from time to time. The man aimed a blow at 
his little enemy, but — whack — his palm came on his 
head instead; again the fly tormented him, but this 
time the man was wiser and said : 

"You will only injure yourself if you 
take notice of despicable enemies." 

— Aesop. 



ECONOMY 



Illustration: The Contribution. 



"We shan't get much here/' whispered a lady to 
her companion, as John Murray blew out one of the 
two candles by whose light he had been reading when 
they asked him to contribute to some benevolent ob- 
ject. He listened to their story and gave one hundred 
dollars. 

"Mr. Murray, I am very agreeably surprised," the 
lady quoted; "I did not expect to get a cent from you." 

The old Quaker asked the reason for her opinion; 
and when told, said, "That, ladies, is the reason I am 
able to let you have the hundred dollars. It is by 
practicing economy that I save up the money to do 
charitable actions. One candle is enough to talk by." 

— Warden. 



THE BLUE BOOK 31 



FIDELITY 



Illustration : The Faithful Little Hollander. 



In some parts of Holland the land lies so low, that 
the people build great walls of earth, called dikes, 
to keep out the sea. Sometimes the waves break down 
these walls, and then the sea rushes through the 
breach, and spreads over the land, often doing great 
damage. Houses have thus been washed away, and 
many people drowned. ._ 

Once as a little boy was going home in the evening, 
he saw a hole in one of the dikes, through which the 
water was trickling. His father had often told him 
that when this happened, unless the water was stopped^ 
it would soon make a hole large enough for the sea 
to rush through and overflow the land. 

At first he thought he would run home and tell his 
father. But then he said to himself, "It may be dark 
before father can come, and we shall not be able to 
find the hole again; or it may get so large that it will 
be too late to stop it. I must stay here now, and 
do the best I can alone." 

The brave little boy sat down, and stopped the hole 
with earth, holding it with his hand to keep back the 
water. There he stayed hour after hour in the cold 
and the dark all through the night. 

In the morning a man came past and saw him. He 
could not think what the boy was doing; and so he 
called out to him, "What are you doing there, my 
boy!" "There is a hole in the dike," said the boy, 
"and I am keeping back the water." 



32 THE BLUE B OK 

Poor little boy! He was so cold and tired that he 
could scarcely speak. The man came quickly up and 
set him free. He had the hole closed up, and thus 
the land was saved, thanks to the brave and faithful 
boy. 

— Boyal Beader. 



FORGIVENESS 



Illustration : From the Life of General Lee. 



Early in the war, before General Robert E. Lee 
had proven his pre-eminence as a general, he was se- 
verely criticized on more than one occasion by a Gen- 
eral Whiting. Whiting had stood at the head of his 
class at West Point and was considered a bright and 
capable man. One day President Davis, wishing an 
officer for some important command, called upon 
General Lee for advice. 

"What do you think of Whiting V 9 

Lee answered without hesitation, commending Whit- 
ing as one of the ablest men in the army, well-quali- 
fied in every way. 

One of the officers present was greatly surprised, 
and at first opportunity drew Lee aside. "Don't you 
know what unkind things Whiting has been saying 
about you?" 

Lee's answer was of the best. "I understood," he 
said, "that the President desired to know my opinion 
of Whiting, not Whiting's opinion of me." 

— Pierson. 



THE BLUE B OK 33 



FRIENDSHIP 



Song : "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." 

Scripture Reading : I Samuel 20 : 4-17. Da- 
vid and Jonathan. 

Illustration: Damon and Pythias. 



A young man whose name was Pythias had done 
something which the tyrant Dionysius did not like. 
For this offense, he was dragged to prison, and a day 
was set when he should be put to death. His home 
was far away, and he wanted very much to see his 
father and mother and friends before he died. 

"Only give me leave to go home and say good-bye 
to those whom I love/' he said, "and then I will come 
back and give up my life." 
The tyrant laughed at him. 

"How can I know that you will keep your promise ?" 
he said. "You only want to cheat me, and save 
yourself. 7 ' 

Then a young man whose name was Damon spoke 
and said — 

"0 king! put me in prison in place of my friend 
Pythias, and let him go to his own country and put his 
affairs in order, and to bid his friends good-bye. I 
know that he will come back as he has promised, for 
he is a man who has never broken his word. But if 
he is not here on the day which you have set, then I 
Avill die in his stead." 

The tyrant was surprised that anybody should make 



34 THE BLUE B OK 

such an offer. He at last agreed to let Pythias go, 
and gave orders that the young man Damon should 
be shut up in prison. 

Time passed, and by and by the day drew near 
which had been set for Pythias to die; and he had not 
come back. The tyrant ordered the jailer to keep 
close watch upon Damon, and not let him escape. 
But Damon did not try to escape. He still had faith 
in the truth and honor of his friend. He said, "If 
Pythias does not come back in time, it will not be 
his fault. It will be because he is hindered against 
his will." 

At last the day came, and then the very hour. Da- 
mon was ready to die. His trust in his friend was 
as firm as ever; and he said he did not grieve at hav- 
ing to suffer for one whom he loved so much. 

Then the jailer came to lead him to his death; but 
at the same moment Pythias stood in the door. He 
had been delayed by storms and shipwreck, and he 
had feared that he was too late. He greeted Damon 
kindly, and then gave himself into the hands of the 
jailer. He was happy because he thought he had come 
in time, even though it was at the last moment. 

The tyrant was not so bad but that he could see good 
in others. He felt that men who loved and trusted 
each other, as did Damon and Pythias, ought not 
to suffer unjustly. And so he set them both free. 

"I would give all my wealth to have one such 
friend," he said. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



THE BLUE B OK 35 



GRATITUDE 



Illustration: The Ant and the Dove. 



An ant went to the bank of a river to drink and, 
having accidentally fallen into the stream, was on the 
point of being drowned. 

A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water, 
pulled off a leaf and dropped it into the water near 
the little insect. The ant climbed on this and, float- 
ing in safety, came to the bank. 

Soon afterwards a hunter saw the dove and crept 
forward carefully, endeavoring to get close enough 
to shoot. The ant, perceiving his design, bit him on 
the ankle so sharply that he cried out in pain and, 
upon this, the dove flew away and escaped. 

— Aesop. 

j ■ 8 1 U 



HELPFULNESS 



Illustration : Imparting Strength. 



A touching story is told of a sick eagle, whose vi- 
tality had been reduced so long by confinement that, 
when set loose, and placed on the heather, it only 
drooped and seemed ready to die. Then an eagle, that 
from the heights saw the feeble bird, swept down, 
touched it and fanned it with his great wings. Over 
and over this was repeated, until the sick bird, grad- 
ually feeling the inspiration of the other's vitality, 



36 THE BLUE BOOK 

j^reened itself, expanded its wings, and ultimately' 
followed in upward flight. We never get an upward 
look or aspiration or ascent, unless from someone in 
the heights who sweeps down and touches us. God 
uses ripe saints to help us out of the depths by their 
contact and contagious consecration. 

— Pier son. 



HUMILITY 



Illustration : The Story of Cincinnatus. 



There was a man named Cincinnatus who lived on 
a little farm not far from the city of Rome. He had 
once been rich, and had held the highest office in the 
land; but in one way or another he had lost all his 
wealth. He was now so poor that he had to do all 
the work on his farm with his own hands. But it 
was thought to be a noble thing to till the soil. 

Cincinnatus was so wise and just that everybody 
trusted him, and asked his advice; and when anyone 
was in trouble, and did not know what to do, his 
neighbors would say — 

"Go and tell Cincinnatus. He will help you." 

Cincinnatus was in the field plowing when the men 
who had been sent to see him came in great haste. He 
stopped and greeted them kindly, and waited for 
them to speak. 

"Put on your cloak, Cincinnatus," they said, "and 
hear the words of the Roman people." 

Then Cincinnatus wondered what they could mean. 
"Is all well with Rome*?" he asked; and he called his 
wife to bring him his cloak. 



THE BLUE B K 37 

She brought the cloak; and Cincinnatus wiped the 
dust from his hands and arms, and threw it over his 
shoulders. Then the men told their errand. 

They told him how the army with all the noblest 
men of Rome had been entrapped in the mountain 
pass. They told him about the great danger the city 
was in. They said, "The people of Rome make you 
their ruler and the ruler of the city, to do with every- 
thing as you choose; and the Fathers bid you come at 
once and go out against our enemy, the fierce men 
of the mountains." 

So Cincinnatus left his plow standing where it was,, 
and hurried to the city. When he passed through the 
streets, and gave orders as to what should be done, 
some of the people were afraid, for they knew that he 
had all power in Rome to do what he pleased. But 
he armed the guards and the boys, and went out at 
their head to fight the fierce mountain men, and free 
the Roman army from the trap into which it had 
fallen. 

A few days afterward there was great joy in Rome. 
There was good news from Cincinnatus. The men of 
the mountains had been beaten back with great loss. 
They had been driven back into their own place. 

And now the Roman army, with the boys and the 
guards, was coming home with banners flying, and 
shouts of victory; and at their head rode Cincinnatus. 
He had saved Rome. 

Cincinnatus might then have made himself king; 
for his word was law, and no man dared lift a finger 
against him. But, before the people could thank him 
enough for what he had done, he gave back the power 
to the white-haired Roman Fathers, and went again 
to his little farm and his plow. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



38 THE BLUE BOOK 



INDUSTRY 



Song : "Bringing in the Sheaves." 
Scripture Heading: Proverbs 5:6-12. 
Illustration : The Grasshopper and the Bee. 



One cold winter day a grasshopper came to a hive 
and begged the bees, who were warm and comfortable, 
for a few drops of their honey. 

"Why did you not lay up a store of food during 
the long days in summer?" said they 

Said the grasshopper, "During that season I was 
very merry in dancing and singing and never thought 
about the hard times to come." 

"We have a very different plan," said the bees. 
"We always work in the summer and lay up a store 
of honey because we are sure we shall need it. We 
have noticed that those who dance and sing in the 
summer, starve and freeze in the winter." 

This fable teaches us that we shall come to want 
if we spend our time in idleness. During youth and 
health, be sure to prepare, by labor and diligence, 
for the rainy days to come. 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE BOOK 39 



JOY 



- Song : "Joy to the World." 
Scripture Reading : John 14 : 1-15. 
Illustration: The Singer. 



Give us, 0' give us the man who sings at his work. 
Be his occupation what it may, he is equal to any of 
those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness. 
He will do more in the same time — he will do it bet- 
ter — persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible to 
fatigue while he marches to music. The very stars 
are said to make harmony as they revolve in their 
spheres. Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, 
although past calculation its power of endurance. Ef- 
forts, to be permanently useful, must be uniformly 
joyous — a spirit all sunshine, graceful from very 
gladness, beautiful because bright. 

— Thomas Carlyle. 



40 THE BLUE BOOK 



JUSTICE 



Song. 

Scripture Reading. 

Illustration : Aristides. 



A tragedy by Aeschylus was once represented be- 
fore the Athenians, in which it was said of one of the 
characters "that he cared not more to be just than to 
appear so." At these words, all eyes were instantly 
turned on Aristides, as the man, who, of all the Greeks, 
most merited that distinguished character. Ever after, 
he received, by mutual consent, the surname of The 
Just, a title, says Plutarch, truly royal, or rather, 
truly divine. This remarkable distinction aroused 
envy, and envy prevailed so far as to procure his 
banishment for ten years, upon unjust suspicion that 
his influence with the people was dangerous to their 
freedom. When the sentence was passed by his coun- 
trymen, Aristides himself was present in the midst 
of them, and a stranger who stood near, and could 
not write, applied to him to write for him on his shell 
ballot. "What name?" asked the philosopher. "Aris- 
tides," replied the stranger. "Do you know him, 
then?" asked Aristides, "or has he in any way in- 
jured you?" "Neither," said the other, "but it is 
for this very thing I would he were condemned. I 
can go nowhere but that I hear of Aristides, the Just." 
Aristides inquired no further, but took the shell and 
wrote the name in it as desired. 

The absence of Aristides soon dissipated the ap- 
prehensions of which his countrymen had so idly 
imbibed. He was in a short time recalled, and for 



THE BLUE B OK 41 

many years after took a leading part in the affairs of 
the republic, without showing the least resentment 
against his enemies, or seeking any other gratification 
than that of serving his country with fidelity and 
honor. His disregard for money was strikingly man- 
ifest at his death ; for though he was frequently a 
treasurer, as well as a general, he scarcely left suf- 
ficient to defray the expenses of his burial. 

— Adapted from the Percy Anecdotes. 



KEEPING A PROMISE 



Illustration: The Story of Regulus. 



On the other side of the sea from Rome there was 
once a great city named Carthage. The Roman people 
were never very friendly to the people of Carthage, 
and at last a war began between them. For a long 
time it was hard to tell which would prove the 
stronger. First the Romans would gain a battle, and 
then the men of Carthage would gain a battle; and 
so the war went on for many years. 

Among the Romans there was a brave general named 
Regulus — a man of whom it was said that he never 
broke his word. It so happened after a while, that 
Regulus was taken prisoner and carried to Carthage. 
Ill and very lonely, he dreamed of his wife and little 
children so far away beyond the sea; and he had but 
little hope of ever seeing them again. He loved his 
home dearly, but he believed that his first duty was 
to his country; and so he had left all, to fight in this 
cruel war. 



42 THE BLUE BOOK 

He had lost a battle, it is true, and had been taken 
prisoner. Yet he knew that the Romans were gaining 
ground, and the people of Carthage were afraid of 
being beaten in the end. They had sent into other 
countries to hire soldiers to help them; but even with 
these they would not be able to fight much longer 
against Rome. 

One day some of the rulers of Carthage came to 
the prison to talk to Regulus. 

"We should like to make peace with the Roman 
people/' they said, "and we are sure, that, if your 
rulers at home knew how the war is going, they would 
be glad to make peace with us. We will set you free 
and let you go home, if you will agree to do as we 
say." 

"And what is that?" asked Regulus. 

"In the first place," they said, "you must tell the 
Romans about the battles which vou have lost, and 
you must make it plain to them that they have not 
gained anything by the war. In the second place, 
you must promise us, that, if they will not make 
peace, you will come back to your prison." 

And so they let him go; for they knew that a great 
Roman would keep his word. 

When he came to Rome, all the people greeted him 
gladly. His wife and children were very happy, for 
they thought that now they would not be parted again. 
The white-haired Fathers who made the laws for the 
city came to see him. They asked him about the war. 

"I was sent from Carthage to ask you to make 
peace," he said. "But it will not be wise to make 
peace. True, we have been beaten in a few battles, 
but our army is gaining ground every day. The 
people of Carthage are afraid and well they may be. 
Keep on with the war a little while longer, and 



TUB BLUE BOOK 43 

Carthage shall be yours. As for me, I have come 
to bid my wife and children and Rome farewell. To- 
morrow I will start back to Carthage and prison; 
for I have promised." 

Then the Fathers tried to persuade him to stay. 

"Let us send another man in your place/' they said. 

"Shall a Roman not keep his word'?" answered 
Regulus. "I am ill, and at the best have not long to 
live. I will go back, as I promised." 

His wife and little children wept, and his sons 
begged him not to leave again. 

"I have given my word," said Regulus. "The rest 
will be taken care of." 

Then he bade them good-bye, and went bravely 
back to the prison and cruel death which he expected. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



KINDNESS 



Illusteatiox : The Story of Sir Bartle Frere. 



When the wife of Sir Bartle Frere had to meet 
him at the railwav station, she took with her a serv- 
ant recently employed, who had never seen his master. 
"You must go and look for Sir Bartle," she ordered. 
"But," answered the nonplussed servant, "how shall 
I know him'?" "Oh," said Lady Frere, "look for a 
tall gentleman helping somebody." 

The description was sufficient for the quick-witted 
man. He went and found Sir Bartle Frere helping 
an old lady out of a railway carriage, and knew him 
at once by the description. 

— Pier son. 



44 THE BLUE BOOK 



MANNERS 

Song. 

Scripture Beading. 

Illustration: In Public Places. 



Refinements of mutual dependence must not be al- 
lowed to justify the outrage of selfishness. The pas- 
senger who occupies more than his seat in the boat or 
train, who sits in one chair and covers another with 
his feet and a third with his bundles, is a public pest 
and general nuisance, for whose punishment there 
should be a common law of procedure. But this can 
be found only where there is a common contempt and 
resolution which will deprive him of his ill-gotten 
seats, in the first place, and make him feel, in the 
second, the general scorn of his neighbors. 

But as we are told constantly and correctly that we 
are a reading people, -it is through reading that the 
members of the family, which is Hostis humani generis, 
will learn that they are the most detestable and de- 
tested of the great families of the race. You, sir, 
whose eyes are skimming this page, and who nevei- 
give your seat to a woman in the street car "on 
principle" — the principle being either that a woman 
ought not to get on a. crowded car, knowing that she 
will put a gentleman to inconvenience; or that the 
company ought to forbid the entry of more passen- 
gers than there are seats; or that the first to come 
should be the first served; or that number one, hav- 
ing paid for a seat, has a right to occupy it; or 



THE BLUE B OK 45 

whatever other form of principle it may assume — you 
are one of the host against whom the crusade is 
pushed. You are the — well, for the sake of euphony 
we will say man, but it is not man that is in the mind 
of your censors. 

Or you, madam, who enter the railroad car with an 
air of right, and look your reproval at every man 
who does not spring to his feet, and who settle your- 
self in the seat offered you without the least recog- 
nition of the courtesy that offers it — for you it 
would be well if the urbane mentor of another day 
were still here, who, having given his seat to a dashing 
young lady who seemed to be unconscious of his pres- 
ence, looked at her until she impatiently demanded 
of him if he wanted anything, and he, responding, 
said blandly: "Yes, madam, I want to hear you say 
thank you." 

> — Selected. 



46 THE BLUE B OK 



MERCY 



Song : "Depth of Mercy ! Can There be, etc." 
Scripture Reading: Psalm 103. 
Illustration : Pocahontas. 



There was once a very brave man whose name was 
John Smith. He came to this country many years 
ago, when there were great woods everywhere, and 
many wild beasts and Indians. Many tales are told 
of his adventures, some of them true and some of 
them untrue. The most famous of these is the follow- 



ing: 



One day when Smith was in the woods, some In- 
dians came upon him, and made him their prisoner. 
They led him to their king, and in a short time they 
made ready to put him to death. 

A large stone was brought in, and Smith was made 
to lie down with his head on it. Then two tall Indians 
with big clubs in their hands came forward. The 
king and all his great men stood around to see. The 
Indians raised their clubs. In another moment they 
would fall on Smith's head. 

But just then a little Indian girl rushed in. She 
was the daughter of the king, and her name was 
Pocahontas. She ran and threw herself between 
Smith and the uplifted clubs. She clasped Smith's 
head with her arms. She laid her own head upon his. 

"0, father!" she cried, "spare this man's life. I 
am sure he has done you no harm, and we ought to 
be his friends." 



THE BLUE B K 47 

The men with the clubs could not strike, for they 
did not want to hurt the child. The king at first did 
not know what to do. Then he spoke to some of his 
warriors, and they lifted Smith from the ground. 
They untied the cords from his wrists and set him 
free. 

The next day the king sent -Smith home; and several 
Indians went with him to protect him from harm. 

After that, as long as she lived, Pocahontas was 
the friend of the white men, and she did a great many 
things to help them. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



"The quality of mercy is not strain'd — 
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 
Upon the place beneath : it is twice bless'd — 
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes : 

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest : it becomes 
The throned monarch better than his crown; 
His scepter shows the force of temporal power, 
The attribute of awe and majesty, 
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings ; 
But mercy is above this sceptered sway — 
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, 
It is an attribute to God himself; 
And earthly power doth then show likest God's 
When mercy seasons justice.' 7 

— William Shakespeare. 



48 THE BLUE BO OK 



NEATNESS 



Illustration : The Boy Who Recommended 

Himself. 



A gentleman advertised for a boy to assist him in 
his office, and nearly fifty applicants presented them- 
selves to him. Out of the whole number, he selected 
one, and dismissed the rest. "I should like to know," 

it 

said a friend, "on what ground you selected that boy, 
who had not a single recommendation." "You are 
mistaken," said the gentleman, "he had a great many. 
He wiped his feet when he came in, and closed the 
door after him, showing that he was careful. He gave 
his seat instantly to that lame old man, showing that 
he was kind and thoughtful. He took off his cap 
when he came in, and answered my questions promptly, 
showing that he was polite and gentlemanly. He 
picked up the book, which I had purposely placed on 
the floor, and replaced it on the table, while all the 
rest stepped over it, showing that he was orderly; 
and he waited quietly for his turn, instead of push- 
ing and crowding. While I talked to him, I noticed 
that his clothing was tidy, his hair neatly brushed, 
and his finger nails clean. Do you not call these 
things letters of recommendation °! I do." 

— Little Corporal. 



THE BLUE B K 49 



OBSERVATION 



Illustration : The Careful Observer. 



A dervish was journeying alone in the desert, when 
two merchants suddenly appeared. "You have lost 
a camel," said he to the merchants. "Indeed we have," 
they replied. 

"Was he not blind in his right eye and lame in his 
left foot?" said the dervish. "He was," replied the 
merchants. "And was he not loaded with honey on 
one side and with wheat on the other?" "He certainly 
was," they replied; "and, as you have seen him so 
lately, and marked him so particularly, you can, in 
all probability, conduct us to him." 

"My friends," said the dervish, "I have never seen 
your camel, nor ever heard of him, but from you !" 
"A pretty story, truly," said the merchants; "but 
where are the jewels that formed a part of his bur- 
den?" "I have seen neither your camel nor your 
jewels," repeated the dervish. 

On this, they seized his person, and forthwith hur- 
ried him before them to the Cadi; but, on the strictest 
search, nothing could be found upon him, nor could 
any evidence whatever be adduced to convict him 
either of falsehood or of theft. They were about to 
proceed against him, when the dervish, with great 
calmness, thus addressed the court : "I have been much 
amused with your surprise, and own that there has 
been some ground for your suspicions; but I have 
lived long and alone, and I can find ample scope for 
observation, even in a desert. 



50 THE BLUE BOOK 

"I knew that I had crossed the track of a camel 
that had strayed from its owner, because I saw no 
track of any human footstep on the same route. I 
knew that the animal was blind of one eye, because 
it had cropped the herbage on only one side of the 
path; and that it was lame in one leg, from the faint 
impression which that particular foot had produced 
upon the sand. I concluded that the animal had lost 
one tooth, because, wherever it had grazed, a small 
tuft of herbage had been left uninjured in the center 
of its bite. As to that which formed the burden of the 
beast, the busy ants informed me that it was corn on 
one side; and the clustering flies that it was honey 
on the other." 

— Colton. 



OPPORTUNITIES 



Illustration": The Talents. 



The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into 
a far country, who called his own servants, and de- 
livered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave 
five talents, to another two, and to another one: to 
every man according to his several ability; and 
straightway took his journey. 

Then he that had received the five talents went and 
traded with the same, and made them five other talents. 
And likewise he that had received the two, he also 
gained other two. But he that had received one, went 
and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 

After a long time the lord of those servants cometh 



THE BLUE BOOK 51 

and reckoneth with them. And so, he that received 
five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 
"Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents; behold, 
I have gained beside them five talents more." His 
lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and faithful 
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I 
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou 
into the joy of thy lord." 

He also that had received two talents came and 
said, "Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents; 
behold, I have gained two other talents beside them." 
His lord said unto him, "Well done, thou good and 
'faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter 
thou into the joy of thy lord." 

Then he which had received the one talent came and 
said unto him, "Lord, I know thee, and thou art a 
hard man, reaping where thou has not sown, and gath- 
ering where thou hast not strewed : and I was afraid, 
and went and hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, there 
thou hast that which is thine." 

His lord answered and said unto him, "Thou wicked 
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where 
I sowed not and gathereth where I have not strewed : 
thou oughtest, therefore, to have put my money to the 
exchangers, and then at my coming I should have re- 
ceived mine with usury. Take, therefore, the talent 
from him and give it unto him that hath ten talents. 

"For unto every one that hath it shall be given, and 
unto him that hath not shall be taken away even that 
which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant 
into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnash- 
ing of teeth."- 

— Matthew, Chapter XXV. 



52 THE BLUE BO K 



ORDER 



Illustration : Order in the House. 



Order appears to rne like a triumph of mind over 
matter, over the elements, over confusing and con- 
founding forces. Order is the luminary, the tranquil- 
izer, the moderator, the supporter of toil; it is life's 
voucher. Without it what would a citv of men be? 
a flock, a swarm, without aim or laAv, in need of going 
to school to the ants or the bees. But my intention 
is to speak of order in the home, where it consists 
primarily of keeping everything in its place. 

We enter a room in such disorder that it might 
make us fancy ourselves in an antiquity shop or a 
moving van. The pieces of furniture have the air of 
frightened creatures surprised to find themselves to- 
gether. There are books in distress, lost keys, and 
faded bouquets, the remnants of some past feast. A 
violin on a chair sets one dreaming darkly : where is 
the musician. You might surmise that the inhabitants 
of the place, overtaken by some disaster, fled long 
ago, and no one knows whither. 

The first result of such disorder is chronic ill hu- 
mor; disorder induces sulkings and frowns. It greets 
us when we wake in the morning, receives us when we 
get out of bed, and indisposes us for the day. More- 
over, it is a perpetual reproach. And if disorder 
makes us lose our temper, it also makes us lose our 
time. When nothing is in its place, we must organize 
searching parties to supply our slightest needs. 



THE BLUE BOOK 53 

Disorderly people are always late, always hurried. 
As long as they think they have time enough, nothing- 
can draw them out of their lethargy, but at the last 
moment a fever seizes hold of them and they stir up 
the whole household. They are the bane of their trav- 
elling companions, despair of those who have ap- 
pointments with them, the scourge of entertainments, 
or their laughing stock. 

Only those who learn to bring order into life, do 
not lose life. Business is first of all things in order; 
science is also order. Without method the most charm- 
ing acquirements, like the best sustained notes, bring 
forth only confusion. 

— Charles Wagner. 



PATIENCE UNDER DIFFICULTIES 



Illustration : Salamanders. 



The fable that there were animals that lived in the 
fire, came from the glowing brilliance of some metals 
that when they were heated to white heat, acquire a 
supernal splendor and, apparently, a new and myster- 
ious life. The metal now seems to live, breathe, heave, 
move; at every new expansion and contraction, a 
hundred hues, indescribablv brilliant and radiant, 

7 «/ 7 

play around the molten surface. So of heroic souls 
in the furnace-fires of trial. The flames cannot de- 
stroy, but only display them. They manifest a new 
and divine vitality in fires that consume others. 

— Pier son. 



54 THE BLUE BOOK 



OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES. 



Illustration: Story of Demosthenes. 



Perhaps no one ever battled harder to overcome ob- 
stacles that would have disheartened most men than 
Demosthenes. He had such a weak voice, and such 
an impediment in his speech, and was so short of 
breath, that he could not get through a single sen- 
tence without stopping to rest. All his first attempts 
were nearly drowned by the hisses and jeers of his 
audiences. His first effort that met with success was 
against his guardian who had defrauded him, and 
whom he compelled to refund a part of his fortune. 
He was so discouraged by his defeats that he deter- 
mined to give up forever all attempts at oratory. One 
of his auditors, however, believed the young man had 
something in him, and encouraged him to persevere. 
He accordingly appeared again in public, but was 
hissed down as before. As he withdrew, hanging his 
head in great confusion, a noted actor, Satyrus, en- 
couraged him still further to try to overcome his im- 
pediment. He stammered so much that he could not 
pronounce some of the letters at all, and his breath 
would give out before he could get to the end of a 
sentence. Finally, he determined to be an orator, 
cost what it might. He went to the seashore and prac- 
ticed amid the roar of the breakers with small pebbles 
in his mouth, in order to overcome his stammering 
and at the same time accustom himself to the hisses 
and sneers of his audience. He overcame his short- 
ness of breath by practicing and speaking when run- 
ning up steep and difficult places on the shore. His 
awkward gestures were also corrected by long and 
determined drill before a mirror. — Mar den. 



THE BLUE BOOK 55 



PATRIOTISM 



Song: "The Star-Spangled Banner." 
Scripture Reading: Psalm 137. 
Illustration : Nathan Hale. 



During the Revolutionary War in 1776, General 
Washington wished one of his officers to go into the 
enemy's camp in order to obtain some important in- 
formation on the eve of a great battle. 

Captain Nathan Hale, only twenty-one years of 
age, volunteered for the dangerous service, but was 
captured with his notes as to the strength of the Brit- 
ish army and sentenced to be hanged as a spy. The 
execution was on Sunday morning, September 22, of 
that year. The patriot met his fate bravely with 
the immortal words upon his lips: "I regret that I 
have but one life to give for my country." It was 
said at the time that this one sentence of Captain Hale 
was worth ten thousand men to the dispirited Ameri- 
can Army and that the words are unequaled for 
simple patriotism. 

With slow tread and still tread 

He scans the tented line; 
And he counts the battery guns 

By the gaunt and shadowy pine; 
And. his slow tread and still tread 
Gives no warning sign. 

The dark wave, the plumed wave, 

It meets his eager glance ; 
And it sparkles 'neath the stars, 

Like the glimmer of a lance; 
A dark wave, a plumed wave, 

On emerald expanse. 



56 THE BLUE B K 

A sharp clang, a steel clang, 
And terror in the sound ! 

For the sentry, falcon-eyed, 
In the camp a spy hath found; 

With a sharp clang, a steel clang, 
The patriot is bound. 

With calm brow, steady brow, 

He listens to his doom; 
In his look there is no fear, 

Nor a shadow trace of gloom; 
But with calm brow and steady brow, 

He robes him for his tomb. 

In the long night, the still night, 
He kneels upon the sod; 

And the brutal guards withhold 
E'en the solemn Word of God ! 

In the long night, the still night, 
He walks where Christ hath trod. 

'Neath the blue morn, the sunny morn, 

He dies upon the tree; 
And he mourns that he can lose 

But one life for Liberty: 
And in the blue morn, the sunny morn, 

His spirit wings are free. 

But his last words, his message words, 
They burn, lest friendly eye 

Should read how proud and calm 
A patriot could die. 

With his last words, his dying words, 
A soldier's battle-cry. 



THE BLUE BOOK 57 

From Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf," 

From monument and urn, 
The sad of earth, the glad of heaven, . 

His tragic fate shall learn; 
And on Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf 

The name of HALE' shall burn ! 

— Francis M. Finch. 



PERSEVERANCE 



Illustration : Bruce and the Spicier. 



There was once a king of Scotland, whose name was 
Robert Bruce. He had need to be both brave and wise, 
for the times in which he lived were wild and rude. 
The king of England was at war with him, and had 
led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of 
the land. 

Battle after battle had been fought. Six times had 
Bruce led his brave little army against his foes; and 
six times had he been beaten and driven into flight. 
At last his army was scattered, and he was forced 
to hide himself in the woods and in lonely places 
among the mountains. 

One rainy day, Bruce lay on the ground under a 
rude shed listening to the patter of the drops on the 
roof above him. He was tired, and sick at heart, and 
ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that 
there was no use for him to try to do anything more. 

As he lay thinking, he saw a spider over his head, 
making ready to weave her web. He watched her as 



58 THE BLUE B OK 

she toiled slowly and with great care. Six times she 
tried to throw her frail thread from one beam to an- 
other, and six times it fell short. 

"Poor thing V said Bruce : "you, too, know what it 
is to fail." 

But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth 
failure. With still more care, she made ready to try 
for the seventh time. Bruce almost forgot his own 
troubles as he watched her swing herself out upon the 
slender line. Would she fail again'? No! The thread 
was carried safely to the beam, and fastened there. 

"I, too, will try a seventh time !" cried Bruce. 

He arose and called his men together. He told 
them of his plans, and sent them out with messages of 
cheer to his disheartened people. Soon there was an 
army of brave Scotchmen around him. Another bat- 
tle was fought, and the king of England was glad to 
go back to his own country. 

I have heard it said that, after that day, no one by 
the name of Bruce ever hurt a spider. The lesson 
which the little creature had taught the king was 
never forgotten. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



THE BLUE B OK 59 



REVERENCE 



Illustration : The Palladium. 



That celebrated statue of Troy was called from 
Pallas — one name of Minerva — the Palladium; it was 
regarded as the talisman on whose preservation hung 
the safety of the Capitol. So confident were the 
Trojans in the power of its presence that, while it 
remained in the citadel, the citizens braved a siege of 
ten years, but when, by Diomede and Ulysses, the 
image was stolen, they gave way to despair, feeling 
that all was lost, as did the Jews when they saw the 
marble and gold of their temple wrapped in a wind- 
ing sheet of flame. If there be any real Palladium 
to the Christian commonwealth, any gift of God that 
has come down from Heaven to stand in the midst of 
the state as the talisman of our national life, it is the 
Christian Sabbath. Enshrine that in the popular 
heart, and all else is comparatively safe. About the 
Sabbath cluster all the religious interests. It is 
linked with an open sanctuary and an open Bible, with 
the worship of God and the works of piety ; and while 
Sabbath-keeping is encouraged, all these grand agen- 
cies of religious development and moral culture are 
a thousand times more potent. But rudely or reck- 
lessly break down the sacred limits which enclose the 
day of God — and holy hours, holy places, and holy 
things are alike exposed to the trampling feet of 
the scoffer and skeptic, the irreligious and the infidel. 
A blow is struck to national prosperity, national mor- 
ality, national perpetuity. 

— Piers on. 



60 THE BLUE B OK 



SELF-CONTROL 



Illustration : Will Power 



As a final practical maxim, relative to these habits 
of will, we may, then, offer something like this : 
KEEP THE FACULTY OF EFFORT ALIVE IN 
YOU BY A LITTLE GRATUITOUS EXERCISE 
EVERY DAY. That is, be systematically ascetic or 
heroic in little unnecessary points; do every clay or two 
something for no other reason than that you would 
rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need 
draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and un- 
trained to stand the test. ' Asceticism of this sort is like 
the insurance a man pays on his house and goods. The 
tax does him no good at the time, and possibly may 
never bring him any return. But if the fire does 
come, his having paid it will be his salvation from 
ruin. So with the man that has daily inured himself 
to habits of concentration, energetic volition, and 
self-denial in unnecessary things. He will stand like 
a tower when everything rocks around him, and when 
his softer fellow-mortals are winnowed like chaff in 
the blast. 

—William James. 

From James' "Principles of Psychology." 



THE BLUE BOOK 61 



SELF-GOVERNMENT 



Illustration: The Story of a Wise Man. 



A friend once asked a wise man what caused him 
so often to complain of pain and weariness in the 
evening. "Alas !" said he, "I have every day so much 
to do. I have two falcons to tame, two hares to keep 
from running away, two hawks to manage, a serpent 
to confine, a lion to chain, and a sick man to tend and 
wait upon." "Why, you must be joking," said his 
friend; "surely no man can have all these things to 
do at once." "Indeed, I am not joking," said the wise 
man, "but what I have tol& you is the sad, sober 
truth; for the two falcons are my two eyes, which I 
must diligently guard; the two hares are my feet, 
which I must keep from walking into the ways of 
sin; the two hawks are my two hands, which I must 
train to work so that I may be able to provide for my 
brethren in need; the serpent is my tongue, which I 
must always bridle, lest it speak unseemly; the lion 
is my heart, with which I have a continued fight, lest 
evil things come out of it; and the sick man is my 
whole body, which is always needing my watchfulness 
and care." 

— Pier son. 



62 THE BLUE BOOK 



SELF-RELIANCE 



Illustration : The Lark and the Farmer 



A lark had made her nest in the early spring in the 
young green wheat. 

The brood had almost grown to their proper 
strength, and attained the use of their wings and the 
full plumage of their feathers, when the owner of the 
field, overlooking his crop, now quite ripe, said, "The 
time is come when I must ask all my neighbors to 
help me with my harvest." One of the young larks 
heard this speech, and related it to his mother, in- 
quiring of her to what place they should move for 
safety. "There is no occasion to move yet, my son," 
she replied; "the man who only sends to his friends 
to help him with his harvest is not really in earnest." 

The owner of the field came again a few days later, 
and saw the wheat shedding grain from excess of 
ripeness, and said, "I will come myself tomorrow with 
my laborers, and with as many reapers as I can hire, 
and will get in the harvest." 

The lark on hearing these words said to her brood, 
"It is now time to be off, my little ones, for the man 
is in earnest this time; he no longer trusts to his 
friends, but will reap the field himself." 

Moral : Self-help is the best help. 

— Aesop. 



THE B LUE B K 63 



SELF-SACRIFICE 



Song : "Take My Life and Let It Be." 
Scripture Reading: John 15:12-23. 

Illustration : A Few Instances of Self-Sac- 
rifice. 



Phillip Sidney showed himself the "gentleman of 
his age," when, himself wounded and burning with 
thirst on the battle-field, he passed on to a soldier 
dying, a vessel of water and offered him, saying, "His 
need is greater than mine." When Muelhause, in 
Prussia, plunged his arms into seething pitch to pull 
out the explosive hand-grenade accidentally dropped 
by a workman, the citizens came en masse to present 
him with a splendid sword and watch in admiration 
of such heroism. Clara Barton's labors among poor, 
sick, and wounded soldiers in late European wars, 
brought to her the Black Cross of Germany, the Gol- 
den Cross of Remembrance, and the Ked Cross of 
Geneva, signs and symbols of self-sacrifice. Selfish- 
ness is the foe of God. Selfish souls are like the Cas- 
pian Sea, which receives into its immense basin the 
floods of six great rivers and many others, and the 
pouring rains, and sends out not one rill to gladden 
the wastes. Selfishness is the root of all sins. Sel- 
fishness leads to rebellion against God. The issue is : 
Self or God; and idolatry of self would dethrone 
God as a rival, were there a chance of success. Yet 
this sin lies so deep, is so subtle and secret, has so 
many manifestations, that, while we cut off a thou- 
sand of its branches, the deadly root remains. 

— Pierson, . , 



64 THE BLUE BOOK 



SLOW BUT SURE 



Song: "Nearer My God to Thee." 
Scripture Reading : Proverbs 23 : 29-32. 
Illustration : The Hare and the Tortoise. 



A hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow 
pace of the tortoise. The latter, laughing,, said : 
"Though you be as swift as the wind, I will beat you 
in the race." The hare, deeming her assertion to be 
simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they 
agreed that the fox should choose the course and fix 
the goal. 

On the day appointed for the race they started 
together. 

The tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went 
on with a slow steady pace straight to the end of the 
course. 

The hare, trusting to his native swiftness, cared but 
little about the race, and lying down by the wayside 
fell fast asleep. At last waking up and moving as 
fast as he could he saw the tortoise had reached the 
goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue. 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE B OK 65 



THOROUGHNESS 



Illustration: Thoroughness Always Pays. 



Some years ago in a small town a young man 
just beginning to work as a carpenter was hired 
to patch a fence. by one of the petty officials of the 
place. "Don't put any unnecessary work on it," 
the man said. "I just want it sufficiently strong 
to keep out any stray live stock, and being out 
there behind the shrubbery, it won't matter what 
it looks like. It isn't worth more than a dollar; 
if you're willing to do it for that, go ahead." 

The young man went to work and spent the most 
of the day on the job. When he went for his pay his 
employer said: "You haven't just finished, have you? 
What's the matter with you, anyway?" and he went 
out to look at the "patch." 

It was not only substantially done, but with the 
utmost neatness and care. 

"I told you I didn't care how it looked, didn't I," 
said the owner angrily. "Now you'll be wanting 
three quarters of a day's pay" — 

"I said I'd do it for a dollar," returned the work- 
man shouldering his tools, "because I wanted the 
money. If I'd finished in half the time and gone 
home, I should only have been sitting around there 
doing nothing. I did the work to suit myself. Now 
if the price suits you, that's the end of it." 

"Well, you're a mighty foolish boy, that's all I've 
got to say," replied the other, turning on his heel as 
he handed over the money. 

Not long after this the young man went to a neigh- 



66 THE BLUE B OK 

boring town to live and steadily worked his way up. 
Some ten years later the owner of the patched fence 
had risen to the position of county commissioner, and 
his little town was a growing city, about to erect a 
number of fine municipal buildings. Among the many 
applicants for the contract, which, besides being an 
important one financially, would undoubtedly make an 
enviable name for its successful bidder, the commis- 
sioner noticed a name that seemed in some wav fa- 
miliar to him. After a moment he recalled the inci- 
dent of the patched fence, which had really made a 
much deeper impression on him than he had allowed 
himself to think at the time. The estimate of the 
young carpenter, now a contractor, proved to be a 
reasonable one and the work was given to him. 

"You want bonds — /' the man began. 

"No," returned the commissioner, "it won't be nec- 
essary in this case, I think. The patch you once put 
on my fence is guarantee enough. It's standing yet." 



TEMPERANCE 



Illustration : The Abstainer's Creed. 



I believe that the Demon of Strong Drink is the 
gigantic foe of God and man; that it ruins men alike 
for happiness on earth and blessedness in Heaven ; and 
that two-thirds of all pauperism, crime, and woe, on 
earth may be traced to him at its progeny; that he 
w r as conceived of Satan, born of the depraved appe- 
tites of men, and inflicts only suffering upon his vic- 
tim; that under his rule, reason is crucified, love dies, 
and conscience is buried; that man descends into hell, 



T HE B LU E B K 67 

even on earth, and has no resurrection for his man- 
hood, nor redemption for his enslaved soul, but in the 
power of God; that no drunkard can enter into the 
Kingdom of God or abide His presence who shall 
come to judge the living and the dead. 

— Pier son. 



UNITY 



Song: "Blest be the Tie that Binds, etc." 
Scripture Reading: Psalm 133. 
Illustration : The Father and His Sons. 



A father had a family of sons who were perpetu- 
ually quarreling among themselves. When he failed 
to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he de- 
termined to give them a practical illustration of the 
evils of disunion; and for this purpose he told them 
one day to bring him a bundle of sticks. 

When they had done so, he placed the fagot into 
the hands of each of them in succession and ordered 
them to break it into pieces. They each tried to do 
so and failed. 

He next unclosed the fagot and took the sticks 
separately, one by one, and again put them into their 
hands, on which they broke them easily. 

He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, 
if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, 
you will be as this fagot, uninjured by the attempts 
of your enemies; but if you are divided among your- 
selves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks." 

— Aesop. 



68 THE BLUE BOOK 



UNSELFISHNESS 



Song: "Auld Lang Syne." 

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10: 38-40. 

Illustration: Sir Phillip Sidney. 

A cruel battle was being fought. The ground was 
covered with dead and dying men. The air was hot 
and stifling. The sun shone down without pity on 
the wounded soldiers lying in the blood and dust. 

One of these soldiers was a nobleman, whom every- 
body loved for his gentleness and kindness. Yet 
now he was no better off than the poorest -man in the 
field. He had been wounded, and would die; and he 
was suffering much with pain and thirst. 

When the battle was over, his friends hurried to 
his aid. A soldier came running with a cup in his 
hand. 

"Here, Sir Phillip," he said, "I have brought you 
some clear, cool water from the brook. I will raise 
your head so that you can drink." 

The cup was place to Sir Phillip's lips. How 
thankfully he looked at the man who had brought it! 
Then his eyes met those of a dying soldier who was 
lying on the ground close by. The wistful look on 
the poor man's face spoke louder than words. 

"Give the water to that man," said Sir Phillip 
quickly; and then, pushing the cup toward him, he 
said, "Here, my comrade, take this. Thy need is 
greater than mine." 

What a brave, noble man he was! The name of 
Sir Phillip Sidney will never be forgotten; for it 
was the name of a Christian gentleman who always 



THE BLUE B K 69 

had the good of others in his mind. Was it any 
wonder that everybody wept when it was heard that 
he was dead"? 

It is said that on the day when he was carried to 
the grave, every eye in the land was filled with tears. 
Rich and poor, high and low, all felt that they had 
lost a friend; all mourned the death of the kindest, 
gentlest man that they had ever known. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



CONCEIT 



Illustration: The Frog and the Ox. 



"Oh, father," said a little frog to the big one sit- 
ting by the side of the pool, "I have seen such a 
terrible monster ! It was as big as a mountain, with 
horns on its head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs 
divided in two." 

"Tush, child, tush," said the old frog, "that was 
only Farmer White's ox. It isn't so big either; he 
may be a little taller than I, but I could easily make 
myself quite as broad; just you see." So he blew him- 
self out, and blew himself out. "Was he as big as 
that?" asked he. 

"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young frog. 

Again the old one blew himself out, and asked the 
young one if the ox was as big as that. 

"Bigger, father, bigger," was the reply. 

So the frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew 
and blew, and swelled and swelled and swelled. And 
then he said : "I'm sure the ox is not as big as — " 
But at this moment he burst. — Aesop. 



70 THE BLUE BOOK 



BOASTING 



Illustration : The Travellers and the Bear. 



Two men were going through a forest. 

"I am afraid/ 7 said one, "that we may meet with 
wild beasts; I see the tracks of their paws on the 
ground." 

"Fear nothing, friend Quickwit," cried the other, 
whose name was Braggart. "In case of an attack 
we shall stand by one another like men. I have a 
strong arm, a stout heart, and — " 

"Hark V cried the first man in alarm, as a low 
growl was heard from a thicket near. In an instant 
Braggart, who was light and nimble, climbed up a tree 
like a squirrel, leaving his friend, who was not so 
active to face the danger alone ! 

But Quickwit's presence of mind did not fail him. 
He could not fight, he could not fly; but he laid him- 
self flat on the ground, and held his breath, so as to 
appear quite dead. Out of the thicket rushed a huge 
bear, and at once made up to poor Quickwit; while 
Braggart looked down, trembling, from his perch in 
the tree. 

One may guess what were the feelings of Quickwit 
when the bear snuffed all around him, coming so near 
that he could feel its warm breath, when its muzzle 
was close to his -ear! But Quickwit did not wince or 
move; and the bear, thinking him dead, plunged again 
into the thicket, leaving him unharmed ! 

When Braggart saw that the danger was over, he 
came down from the tree. Somewhat ashamed of 
his cowardly conduct, he passed the matter off with 
a joke. 



THE BLUE B K 71 

"Well, my friend Quickwit," he said, "what did 
the bear say to you when he whispered into your ear?" 

"He told me," replied Quickwit, "Never again to 
trust a boaster like you!" 

The hour of danger often shows that the greatest 
boasters are the greatest cowards. Let courage be 
proved by deeds, not words. 

— From The Royal Readers. 



DECEPTION 



Illustration: The Shepherd's Boy. 

There was once a young shepherd boy who tended 
his sheep at the foot of a mountain, near a dark 
forest. It was rather lonely for him all day, so he 
thought upon a plan by which he could get a little 
company and some excitement. He rushed down 
toward the village calling out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and 
the villagers came out to meet him, and some of them 
stopped with him for a considerable time. This pleased 
the boy so much that a few days later he tried the 
same trick, and again the villagers came to his help. 
But shortly after this a wolf actually did come out 
of the forest, and began to w T orry the sheep, and the 
boy, of course, cried out, "Wolf! Wolf!" still louder 
than before. But this time, the villagers, who had 
been fooled twice before, thought the boy was again 
deceiving them, and nobody came to his help. So the 
wolf made a good meal off the boy's flock, and when 
the boy complained, the wise men of the village said : 

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks 
the truth." — Aesop. 



72 THE BLUE BO OK 



CRUELTY 



Illustration: A Cruel Boy. 



There was once a boy who loved to give pain to 
everything that came his way, over which he could 
gain any power. He would take eggs from the 
mourning robin, and torture the unfledged sparrow, 
cats and dogs, the peaceable cow and the faithful 
horse; he delighted to worry and distress. I do not 
like to tell you the many cruel things that he did. He 
was told that such things were wrong. An excellent 
lady with whom he lived 'used to warn and reprove 
him for his evil conduct — 'but he did not reform. 
When he grew up he became a soldier. 

He was never sorry to see men wounded and blood 
running upon the earth. He became so wicked that 
he laid a plan to betray his country, and to sell it 
into the hands of the enemy. This is to be a traitor. 
But he was discovered and fled. He never dared to 
return to his native land, but lived despised and died 
miserably in a foreign clime. Such was the end of 
the cruel boy, who loved to give pain to animals. He 
was born in Norwich, Conn., and the beautiful city 
of his birth is ashamed of his memory. His name 
was Benedict Arnold. 

— The Spirit of Humanity. 



THE BLUE B OK 73 



EGOTISM 



Illustration: The Egotistic Senator. 



Even the philosophers have not shown themselves 
averse to being sprinkled with the holy waters of 
laudation. Socrates soberly told his judges that they 
should award him a pension instead of condemning 
him; and Epicurus assured his correspondent that if 
he desired glory, it was secured to him by the fact 
that Epicurus thought him worthy of being written to. 

Alcibiades let all the world know that the one 
purpose of his life, whether he headed a conspiracy, 
or cut off his dog's tail, was to make a noise and give, 
the Athenians something to think about. Aristopha- 
nes, more frank even than Cicero, made his com- 
edies vehicles for the most extravagant self-praise, 
coolly claiming for each successive play not only 
that it was the best he had written, but that it was 
also the best of its class, and not to be equaled by 
any other effort of human wit. 

It is related of a distinguished senator, who had 
been in rather bad health, that he was accosted by a 
constitutent during one of those breathless periods 
of the late war, when the very destinies of the nation 
seemed to our excited fancies to hang upon the for- 
tunes of the hour. 

"Oh Mr. — — , I am so glad to see you!" said the 
friend. "Is there — have you any news?" 

"Thank you!" responded the senator, with grave 
serenity, "Thank you, I am much better." 

— Lippincott. 



74 THE BLUE BOOK 



ENVY 



Illustration : The Fishermen, 



A young man stood listless watching some anglers 
on a bridge. He was poor and dejected. At length, 
approaching a basket filled with fish, he sighed, "If 
now I had these, I would be happy. I could sell them 
and buy food and lodgings." "I will give you just 
as many and just as good," said the owner, who 
chanced to overhear his words, "if you will do me 
a trifling favor." "And what is that?" asked the 
other. "Only to tend this line until I come back; I 
wish to go on a short errand." The proposal was 
gladly accepted. The old man was gone so long that 
the young man began to get impatient. Meanwhile 
the fish snapped greedily at the hook and he lost all 
his depression in the excitment of pulling them in. 
When the owner returned, he had caught a large num- 
ber. Counting out from them as many as were in the 
basket, and presenting them to the youth the old man 
said, "I will fulfill my promise from the fish you 
have caught, to teach you whenever you see others 
earning what you need to waste no time in foolish 
wishing, but cast a line for yourself." 

— Mar den. 



THE BLUE BOOK 75 



EXAGGERATION 



Illustration: The Three Black Crows. 



a 



Two honest tradesmen meeting in the Strand, 
One took the other briskly by the hand. 
Hark ye," said he, " ? Tis an odd story this, 
Abont the crows !" "I don't know what it is," 
Replied his friend. "No? Fm surprised at that. 
Where I come from it is the common chat." 

"But you shall hear — an odd affair indeed ! 
And that it happened they are all agreed. 
Not to detain you from a thing so strange; 
A gentleman who lives not far from Change, 
This week, in short, as all the Alley knows, 
Taking a vomit threw up three black crows." 

"Impossible!" "Nay, but 'tis really true; 

I had it from good hands and so may you." 
"From whose, I pray 1 ?" So having named the man, 

Straight to inquire, his curious comrade ran : 
"Sir, did you tell" — (relating the affair). 
"Yes, sir, I did; and if 'tis worth your care, 
? Twas Mr. Such-a-one who told it me. 

But, bye-the-bye, 'twas two black crows, not three." 

Resolved to trace so wondrous an event, 

Quick to the third the virtuoso went : 
"Sir" — (and so forth). "Why yes, the thing is fact, 

Though in regard to number, not exact. 

It was not two black crows, but only one. 

The truth of that you may depend upon. 

The gentleman himself told me the case." 
"Where may I find him?" "Why, in such a place." 



76 THE BLUE BOOK 

Away he went; and having found him out: 
"Sir, be so good as to resolve a doubt." 
Then to his last informant, he referred, 
And begged to know if true what he had heard. 

"Did you, sir, throw up a black crow'?" "Not I!" 

"Bless me, how people propagate a lie! 
Black crows have been thrown up, three, two, one, 
And here I find it comes at last to none. 
Did you say anything of a crow at all?" 

"Crow? crow? Perhaps I might, now I recall 
The matter over." "And pray, sir, what was't?" 

"Why, I was horrid sick, and, at last, 
I did throw up and told my neighbor so — 
Something that was as black, sir, as a crow." 

— John Byrom. 



FAMILIARITY 



Illustration : The Fox and the Lion. 



A fox w T ho had never seen a lion, met one by a cer- 
tain chance one day in the forest and was so fright- 
ened that he was near dying with fear. 

On meeting with him the second time, he was still 
much alarmed, but not to the same extent as at first. 

On seeing him the third time, he so increased his 
boldness that he went up to him and commenced a 
familiar conversation with him. 

MORAL: Familiarity breeds contempt. 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE BOOK 77 



EXTRAVAGANCE 



Illustration: The Whistle. 



When I was a child, seven years old, my friends, 
on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I went 
directly to a shop where they sold toys for children; 
and, being charmed with the sound of a whistle that 
I met by the way in the hands of another boy, I vol- 
untarily offered him all of my money for one. 

I then came home, and went whistling all over the 
house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing 
all the family. My brothers, sisters, and cousins, un- 
derstanding the bargain I had made, told me that I 
had given four times as much for it as it was worth. 

This put me in mind of what good things I might 
have bought with the rest of the money; and they 
laughed at me so much that I cried with vexation. 

This, however, was afterward of use to me, the im- 
pression continuing on my mind; so that often, when 
I was tempted to buy unnecessary things, I said to 
myself: "Don't give too much for the whistle;" and 
so I saved my money. As I grew up, came into the 
world, and observed men, I thought I met with many, 
very many, who gave too much for the whistle. When 
I saw anyone too ambitious of the favor of the great, 
wasting his time in attendance on public dinners, 
sacrificing his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and per- 
haps his friends, to attain it, I said to myself, "This 
man gives too much for his whistle." 

If I knew a miser, who gave up every kind of 
comfortable living, all the pleasure of doing good 
to others, all the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and 



78 THE BLUE B OK 

the joys of benevolent friendship, for the sake of 
accumulating wealth, "Poor man," said I, "you do in- 
deed pay too much for your whistle." 

When I met a man of pleasure, sacrificing the im- 
provement of his mind, or of his fortune, to a mere 
bodily comfort, "Mistaken man," said I, "you are pro- 
viding pain for yourself, instead of pleasure; you 
give too much for your whistle." 

In short, I believed that a great part of the miser- 
ies of mankind were brought upon them by the false 
estimates they had made of the value of things, and 
by their giving too much for their whistles. 

— Adapted from Benjamin Franklin. 



FEAR 



Illustration: The Pilgrims and the Plague. 



"Where are you going'?" asked an Eastern Pilgrim 
on meeting the plague one day. "I am going to Bag- 
dad to kill five thousand people," was the reply. A 
few days later the same Pilgrim met the plague re- 
turning. "You told me you were going to Bagdad 
to kill five thousand people," said he, but instead you 
killed fifty thousand." "No," said the plague, "I 
killed only five thousand, as I told you I would; the 
others died of fright." 

Physicians have reported cases where hundreds of 
people died of fright in the poor quarters of large 
cities, in time of plague, before it was a physical 
possibility that the disease could have reached them. 

— Mar den. 



THE BLUE B OK 79 



FICKLENESS 



Illustration: The Bat, the Birds, and the 

Beasts. 



A great conflict was about to come off between the 
Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were 
collected together the Bat hesitated which to join. 
The Birds that passed his perch said : "Come with 
us ;" but he said : "I am a Beast. " Later on some 
Beasts who were passing beneath him looked up and 
said : "Come with us." But he said : "I am a Bird." 
Luckily, at the last moment peace was made, and do 
battle took place, so that the Bat came to the Birds 
and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all 
turned against him and he had to fly away. He then 
went to the Beasts, but soon he had to beat a re- 
treat, or else they would have torn him to pieces. 
"Ah," said the Bat, "I see now he that is neither one 
thing* nor the other has no friends." 

— Aesop. 



L t3 



80 THE BLUE BOOK 



FLATTERY 



Illustration : The Fox and the Crow. 



A fox once saw a crow fly off with a piece of 
cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. 
"That's for me, as I am a fox," said Master Reynard, 
and he walked np to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, 
Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking 
today; how glossy your feathers; how bright your 
eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other 
birds, just as your figure does; let me hear just one 
song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of 
Birds." The crow lifted up her head and began to 
caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth, 
the piece of cheese fell out, only to be snapped up 
by Master Fox. "That will do," said he, "that was 
all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese, I will give 
you a piece of advice for the future — 'Do not trust 
flatterers/ " 

— Aesop. 



THE BLUE B OK 81 



FOPPERY 



Illustration: Foppery and Courage. 



Foppery in dress is by no means a sure mark of 
either effeminacy or cowardice; and those who pre- 
sume on such appearances, like all who judge merely 
from externals, will often be mistaken. 

The late Sir Alexander Schomberg, many years 
commander of the king's yacht, the Dorset, was during 
the whole of a long life, a very great beau. When a 
young man, he was one day walking down a fashion- 
able street in London, and having taken out his hand- 
kerchief which was highly perfumed, a couple of row- 
dies, conceiving that an officer so perfumed was a 
very safe object of ridicule, followed him down the 
street, amusing themselves with sneers at him. Sir 
Alexander at length reached his lodging, and having 
knocked at the door, he called one of the gentlemen 
and said, "Sir, I perceive you have been much taken 
with the perfume of my handkerchief;" then, taking 
it out with his left hand he added, "I request you to 
smell it closer," at the same time twisting his nose 
and flogging him with his cane, he concluded by in- 
forming him that he was Captain Schomberg of the 
Royal Navy, very much at his service. 

— Percy Anecdotes. 



82 THE BLUE B OK 



IDLENESS 



Illustration : Utilization of Spare Moments. 



It was in an old school book that the writer, as a 
boy, first came across that significant sentiment of the 
famous New England educator and philanthropist, 
Horace Mann, "Lost, yesterday, somewhere between 
sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with 
sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered. They 
are gone forever." 

This thought, expressed with such novelty and such 
beauty, is a whole sermon in itself. From it may be 
deduced the lesson of the danger which attends the 
waste of time. Idleness results in mental and moral 
atrophy, and as experience shows, becomes the prolific 
mother of ignorance and vice; the criminal population 
is not recruited from the ranks of the industrious. 
From it also, we may draw the lesson of the value 
of spare moments rightly employed. 

When one considers what wonders may be accom- 
plished through the utilization of these fragments of 
time, what mines of information may be acquired by 
improving spare moments, they surely seem golden. 
In these days when the facilities for obtaining know- 
ledge are so many, when the best thoughts of the 
greatest minds are in the reach of all, culture is a 
possibility to the busiest, a mastery of what are 
known as the highest branches of learning may be at- 
tained by the humblest. One new fact acquired a 
day means a store of over seven thousand in twenty 
years. It has been demonstrated that one hour a day 
devoted to the reading of books will in twenty years 



THE BLUE BOOK S3 

result in the reading of three hundred and sixty-five 
large volumes. 

The examples of distinguished men in all the walks 
of life attest the value of spare moments. The famous 
Dr. Burney, learning the French and Italian languages 
while riding on horseback to and fro from his music 
pupils; Elihu Burritt, foremost scholar of his times, 
mastering mathematical problems and eighteen an- 
cient and modern languages while laboring at the 
forge; the indomitable Livingstone performing the 
hardest manual labor with a book at his side, that he 
might not waste a moment; the indefatigable Carey, 
pioneer of modern missionary effort, learning the 
classic while toiling at the bench; the invincible Na- 
poleon, with his reports under his pillow, that he 
might study them in his wakeful moments; the elo- 
quent Phillips Brooks, as a student, laying the foun- 
dation of that noble diction and facility of speech 
which afterwards made him famous, by poring over 
the pages of the dictionary while waiting to be served 
at the dinner table of a boarding house; the immortal 
Lincoln, lying flat on the floor in the morning hours, 
with the fire or a torch for a light, assimilating the 
contents of a book which he had walked a mile to bor- 
row — all these illustrate the worth of spare moments, 
properly utilized. 

— Walter F. Stephens. 



84 THE BLUE B OK 



IMPERFECT JUDGMENT 



Illustration : The Blind Men and the Elephant. 



There were once six blind men who stood by the 
roadside every day, and begged from the people who 
passed. They had often heard of elephants, but they 
had never seen one; for being blind, how could they 1 ? 

It so happened that one morning an elephant was 
driven down the road where they stood. When they 
were told that the great beast was before them, they 
asked the driver to let him stop so that they might 
see him. 

Of course they could not see him with their eyes; 
but they thought that by touching him they could 
learn just what sort of an animal he was. 

The first one happened to put his hand on the ele- 
phant's side. "Well, well!' 7 he said, "now I know all 
about this beast. He is exactly like a wall." 

The second felt only of the elephant's tusk. "My 
brother/' he said, "you are mistaken. He is not at 
all like a wall. He is round and smooth and sharp. 
He is more like a spear than anything else." 

The third happened to take hold of the elephant's 
trunk. "Both of you are wrong," he said. "Anybody 
who knows can see that this elephant is like a snake." 

The fourth reached out his arms and grasped one 
of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you are!" he 
said. "It is very plain to me that he is round and tall 
like a tree." 

The fifth was a very tall man, and he chanced to 
take hold of the elephant's ear. "The blindest man 
ought to know that this beast is not like anything 
you name," he said. "He is exactly like a huge fan. 



jj 



THE BLUE B OK 85 

The sixth was very blind, indeed, and it was some 
time before he could find the elephant at all. At last 
he seized the animal's tail. "0 foolish fellows !" he 
cried. "You surely have lost your senses. This ele- 
phant is not like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a 
tree; neither is he like a fan. But any man with a 
particle of sense can see that he is exactly like a rope." 

Then the elephant moved on and the six blind men 
quarreled all day about him. Each believed that he 
knew just how the animal looked; and each called 
the others hard names because they did not agree with 
him. People who have eyes sometimes act as foolishly. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



INATTENTION 



Illustration : The Glory of a Stainless Life. 



An Arabian princess was once presented by her 
teachers with an ivory casket, not to be opened until 
a year had passed. The time, impatiently waited for, 
came at last, and with trembling haste she unlocked the 
treasure ; and lo ! on the satin linings lay a shroud of 
rust; the form of something beautiful, but the beauty 
gone. A slip of parchment contained these words : 
"Dear pupil, learn a lesson in your life. This trinket, 
when enclosed had upon it only a spot of rust; by 
neglect it has become the useless thing you now be- 
hold, only a blot upon its pure surroundings. So 
a little stain on your character will, by inattention 
and neglect, mar a bright and useful life, and in 
time leave only the dark shadow of what might have 
been. Place herein a jewel of gold, and after many 



86 THE BLUE BOOK 

years you will find it still as sparkling as ever. So 
with yourself; treasure up only the pure, the good, 
and you will be an ornament to society, and a source 
of true pleasure to yourself and your friends.' 7 

— Pierson. 



INGRATITUDE 



Illustration: The Farmer and the Snake. 



One cold winter day a farmer found a snake frozen 
and stiff with cold. 

He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed 
it in his bosom. 

The snake, on being thawed by the warmth, quickly 
revived, when, resuming his natural instincts, he bit 
his benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. 

— Aesop. 



Blow, blow, thou winter wind, 
Thou art not so unkind 

As man's ingratitude; 
Thy tooth is not so keen, 
Because thou art not seen, 

Although thy breath be rude. 

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, 
Thou dost not bite so high 

As benefits forgot: 
Though thou the waters warp, 
Thy sting is not so sharp 

As friend remembered not. 

— William Shakespeare, 



THE BLUE B K 87 



LOST OPPORTUNITIES 



Illustration : Give God Your Best. 



The story is told of an old Irish woman who lived the 
life of a miser; all alone in an old house that was liter- 
ally tumbling down around her ears. She lived not a 
great way from the castle where it was the habit of 
Queen Victoria to spend her summer months. One 
day the queen was driving by the house of the old 
woman in an open carriage, when there came up a 
sudden rain storm, finding the queen without even an 
umbrella for shelter. She ordered her footman to go 
to the house of the old woman hard by, and ask the 
loan of an umbrella. At the footman's knock, she 
opened the door, but slightly, and peering at him with 
one eye, asked gruff ly : "What do you want ?" "Would 
ye lend us an umbrella for the lady in the carriage'?" 
he asked. "Will ye be sure to bring it back?" she 
said, and being assured in the affirmative, she went 
reluctantly to her closet and brought him the oldest of 
the two umbrellas which she possessed, and again open- 
ing the door, she passed it out to him with the re- 
peated injunction to be sure to bring it back again 
without delay. 

The queen then proceeded with her drive back to 
the castle, but when she raised the umbrella, she 
found that it was so old that the wind tore it to 
pieces and she did not escape her wetting. The next 
day the queen's footman called at the home of the old 
Irish woman and presented her with a new silk um- 
brella with a gold handle, saying: "This comes with 
the compliments of her majesty, Queen Victoria, to 



88 THE BLUE B OK 

whom you yesterday loaned an umbrella which was 
destroyed by wind." "Do ye mean to tell me that 
the lady who wanted my umbrella was Queen Vic- 
toria V exclaimed the woman. "It was, ma'am/' re- 
plied the footman. "Well, why didn't ye tell me! 
Why, I lent her the worst one I had. If I had known 
she was the queen, she could have had my best um- 
brella. And to think I've sat at this window for 
twelve years hoping to see the queen when she might 
pass and when she did come and Avanted my umbrella, 
I lent her the worst one I had," and she bitterly 
blamed herself for not giving the queen the best. 



PLEASING EVERYBODY 



Song. 

Scripture Reading. 

Illustration: The Man, the Boy, and the 

Donkey. 



A man and his son were once going with their don- 
key to market. As they were walking along by its 
side, a countryman passed them and said : "You fools, 
what is a donkey for, but to ride upon?" 

So the man put the boy on the donkey and they 
went on their way. But soon they passed a group of 
men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he 
lets his father walk while he rides." 

So the man ordered the boy to get off, and got 
on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they 
passed two women, one of whom said to the other: 



THE BLUE B K 89 

"Shame on that lazy lout to let that poor boy trudge 
along." 

The man didn't know what to do, but at last he took 
his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time 
they had come to the town, and the passers-by began 
to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and 
asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: 
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that 
poor donkey of yours — you and your hulking son*?" 

The man got off and tried to think what to do. 
They thought and thought, till at last they cut down 
a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and the pole and 
donkey were raised to their shoulders. They went 
along amid the laughter of all who met them till they 
came to Market Bridge, when the donkey, getting 
one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy 
to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the 
donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being 
tied together, he was drowned. 

"That will teach you," said an old man who had 
followed them : 

"Please all, and you will please none." 

— Adapted from Aesop. 



90 THE BLUE BOOK 



POPULARITY 



Illustration: The Hare with Many Friends. 



A hare was very popular with the other beasts who 
all claimed to be her friends. But one day she heard 
the hounds approaching and hoped to escape them 
by the aid of her many friends. So she went to the 
horse, and asked him to carry her away from the 
hounds on his back. But he declined, stating that he 
had important work to do for his master. "He felt 
sure/' he said, "that all her other friends would come 
to her assistance." She then applied to the bull, and 
hoped he would repel the hounds with his horns. The 
bull replied : "I am very sorry, but I have an appoint- 
ment with a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the 
goat will do what you want." The goat, however, 
feared that his back might do her some harm if he 
took her upon it. The ram, he felt sure, was the 
proper friend to apply to. So she went to the ram 
and told him the case. The ram replied : "Another 
time, my dear friend. I do not like to interfere on 
the present occasion, as hounds have been known to 
eat sheep as well as hares." The hare then applied, as 
a last hope,. to the calf, who regretted that he was un- 
able to help her, as he did not like to take the respon- 
sibility upon himself, as so many older persons had 
declined the task. By this time the hounds were quite 
near, and the hare took to her heels and luckilv 
escaped. 

"He that hath many friends, hath no friends." 

— Adapted from' Aesop. 



THE BLUE B K 91 



PRIDE 



Illustration": The Lords of the Isles. 



The lordship of the Hebridian Isles continued in 
the family of McDonald for a long series of years; 
but at last the aggrandizements of the Scottish mon- 
archs, by succeeding to the crowns of England and 
Ireland, sunk the Lords of the Isles into British sub- 
jects. For many years after, however, they were 
distinguished subjects noted for a pride of spirit which 
seemed to disdain comparison with any state short of 
royalty itself. One of the Lords McDonald, happen- 
ing to be in Ireland, was invited to an entertainment 
given by the Lord Lieutenant. He chanced to be 
among those last in coming in, and sat himself down 
at the foot of the table near the door. The Lord 
Lieutenant asked him to sit beside him. McDonald, 
who spoke little English, asked "What says the carle?" 
"He bids you move to the head of the table." "Tell 
the carle, that wherever McDonald sits, that is the 
head of the table." 

— Percy Anecdotes. 



92 THE BLUE B OK 



PROCRASTINATION 



Illustration: Facts about a Few Great Men. 



Alexander, who ascended the throne at twenty, had 
conquered the world before dying at thirty-three. 
Julius Caesar captured eight hundred cities, conquered 
three hundred nations, and defeated three million 
men, became a great orator and one of the greatest 
statesmen known, and still was a young man. Wash- 
ington was appointed adjutant-general at nineteen, 
was sent at twenty-one as ambassador to treat with 
the French, and won his first battle as colonel at 
twenty-two. LaFayette was made general of the 
whole French army at twenty. Charlemagne was 
master of France and Germany at thirty. Conde was 
only twenty-two when he conquered at Roicroi. Gal- 
ileo was but eighteen when he saw the principle of the 
pendulum in the swinging lamp at the cathedral at 
Pisa. Peel was in Parliament before he was twenty- 
two, and at twenty-four he was Lord of the Treas- 
ury. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was proficient in 
Greek and Latin at twelve; De Quincey at eleven. 
Robert Browning wrote at eleven poetry of no mean 
order. Cowley, who sleeps in Westminster Abbey, 
published a volume of poems at fifteen. N. P. Willis 
won lasting fame as a poet before leaving college. 
Macaulay was a celebrated author before he was 
twenty-three. Luther was but twenty-nine when he 
nailed his famous thesis to the door of the bishop and 
defied the pope. Nelson was a lieutenant in the 
British navy before he was twenty. He was but 
forty-seven when he received his death wound at 



THE BLUE B K 93 

Trafalgar. Charles the Twelfth was only nineteen 
when he gained the battle of Narva; at thirty-six, 
Cortez was conqueror of Mexico; at thirty-two Clive 
had established the British power in India. Hannibal, 
the greatest of military commanders, was only thirty, 
when, at Cannae, he dealt an almost annihilating blow 
at the Republic of Rome; and Napoleon was only 
twenty-seven when, on the plains of Italy, he out- 
generaled and defeated, one after another, the veteran 
marshals of Austria. 

— Mar den. 



SELF-INDULGENCE. 



Illustration : The Magic Skin. 

Balzac's "Peau de Chagrin" is founded on the myth 
of the magic skin. A young man becomes the posses- 
sor of a magic skin, the peculiarity of which is that, 
while it gratified every wish formed by its possessor, 
it shrinks in all its dimensions each time a wish is 
gratified. He makes every effort to find the cause 
of its shrinking, invokes the aid of the physicist, 
chemist and student of natural history, all in vain. 
He draws a red line around it. That same day he 
indulges in a longing for a certain object. The next 
morning there is a little interval between the red 
line and the skin, close to which it was traced. So 
always, inevitably, as he lives on, satisfying one de- 
sire or passion after another, the shrinking process 
continues. A moral disease sets in which keeps pace 
with the shrinking skin, and his life and its talisman 
come to an end together. What a fable to illustrate 
the moral atrophy of self-indulgence. — Pierson* 



94 THE BLUE BOOK 



REVENGE 



Illustration: An Eastern Story. 



A haughty favorite of an Oriental monarch threw 
a stone at a poor priest. The dervish did not dare to 
throw it back, for the favorite was very powerful. 
So he picked up the stone and put it carefully into 
his pocket, saying to himself: "The time for revenge 
will come by and by and then I will repay him." Not 
long afterward, walking in one of the streets, he saw 
a great crowd, and found to his astonishment, that 
his enemy, the favorite, who had fallen into disgrace 
with the king, was being paraded through the prin- 
cipal streets on a camel, exposed to the jests and 
insults of the populace. The dervish, seeing all this, 
hastily grasped at the stone which he carried in his 
pocket, saying to himself: "The time for my revenge 
has come, and I will repay him for his insulting 
conduct." But, after considering a moment, he threw 
the stone away, saying : "The time for revenge never 
comes; for, if our enemy is powerful, revenge is 
dangerous, as well as foolish, and if he is weak and 
wretched, then revenge is worse than foolish, it is 
mean and cruel. And in all cases it is forbidden 
and wicked." 

— Pier son. 



TILE BLUE BOOK 95 



SELF-INTEREST 



Illustration : The Fox without a Tail. 



It happened that a fox caught its tail in a trap, and 
in struggling to release himself, lost all of it but the 
stump. At first he was ashamed to show himself 
among his fellow foxes. But at last he determined 
to put a bolder face upon his misfortune, and sum- 
moned all the foxes to a general meeting to consider 
a proposal which he had to place before them. When 
they had assembled together the fox proposed that 
they should all do away with their tails. He pointed 
out how inconvenient a tail was when they were pur- 
sued by their enemies, the dogs; how much it was in 
the way when they desired to sit down and hold a 
friendly conversation with one another. He failed 
to see any advantage in carrying about such an en- 
cumbrance. "That is all very well," said one of the 
older foxes; "but I do not think you would have rec- 
ommended us to dispense with our chief ornament 
if .you had not happened to lose it yourself." 

— Aesop. 



96 THE BLUE B OK 



SLANDER 



Song : "Speak. Gently. 77 

Scripture Reading : James 3 : 1-14. 

Illustration: The Slanderer. 



A lady visited Sir Philip Neri on one occasion, ac- 
cusing herself of being a slanderer. 

"Do you frequently fall into this fault V he inquired. 

"Yes, very often/ 7 replied the penitent. 

"My dear child/ 7 said Philip, "your fault is great, 
but the mercy of God is greater. I now bid thee do 
as follows: Go to the nearest market and purchase a 
chicken just killed and covered with feathers; then 
walk a certain distance, plucking the bird as you go. 
Your walk finished, return to me. 77 

The woman did as directed and returned, anxious 
to know the meaning of so singular an injunction. 

"You have been very faithful to the first part of 
my orders/ 7 said Philip. "Now do the second part, 
and you will be cured. Retrace your steps, pass 
through all the places you have traversed, and gather 
up one by one all the feathers you have scattered. 77 

"But/ 7 said the woman, "I cast all the feathers 
carelessly away, and the wind carried them in all di- 
rections. 77 

"Well, my child/ 7 replied Philip, "so it is with your 
words of slander. Like the feathers which the wind 
has scattered, they have been wafted in many direc- 
tions: call them back now if you can. Go, sin no 



more." 



— Selected. 



THE BLUE BOOK 97 



STINGINESS 



Illustration: Anecdote of Burns. 



One day a rich Greenock merchant, walking along 
the quays, incautiously missed his footing and fell 
into the Clyde. He w£>uld have been inevitably 
drowned but for the bravery of a poor man, who 
leaped in after him and rescued him from immediate 
death. The millionaire, after coming to himself, and 
knowing what he owed his deliverer, put his hand 
into his dripping pocket and rewarded him with the 
munificent amount of sixpence! This caused a com- 
motion in the crowd that had gathered, and language 
more strong than select was hurled at the merchant 
for his unheard-of stinginess, and he began to sneak 
off, afraid of something worse than hard words. At 
this stage a stout, broad-shouldered, dark-eyed, noble- 
looking son of toil came up and asked the cause of the 
turmoil. On hearing it, with a withering look of 
contempt at the merchant, he turned to the crowd and 
said: "My freens, yere a ? wrang. Let him alane; surely 
he kens the value of his ane worthless life — just sax- 
pence — better than ony o ? us." With a shout of 
good-natured, but derisive laughter, the crowd dis- 
persed. The speaker was the celebrated Robert Burns. 

— Pierson. 



V. 



98 THE BLUE B OK 



TREACHERY 



Illustration": The Just Reward of Treachery. 



Tarpeia, the daughter of Tarpeius, the keeper of 
the Roman Capitol, agreed to betray it into the hands 
of the Sabines, on this condition, "that she should 
have for her reward, that which they carried upon 
their left arms," meaning the golden bracelets they 
wore upon them. The Sabines having been let in by 
Tarpeia, according to compact, Titus, their king, 
though well pleased with carrying the place, yet de- 
testing the manner in which it was done, commanded 
the Sabines to give the fair traitor her reward by 
throwing to her all they wore upon their left arms; 
and therewith, unclasping his bracelet from his left 
arm, he cast that, together with his shield, upon her. 
All the Sabines followed the example of their chief 
and the traitoress was speedily overwhelmed with the 
number of bracelets and bucklers heaped upon her, 
and thus perished miserably under the weight of the 
reward which she had earned by the double treachery 
to her father and to her country. 

— The Percy Anecdotes. 



THE BLUE B K 99 



TYRANNY 



Illustration : The Frogs Desiring a King. 



The frogs were living as happy as could be in a 
marshy swamp that just suited them; they went 
splashing about, caring for nobody and nobody troub- 
ling them. But some of them thought that this was 
not right, that they should have a king and a proper 
constitution, so they determined to send up to Jove 
a petition to give them what they wanted. "Mighty 
Jove," they cried, "send unto us a king that will rule 
over us and keep us in order." Jove laughed at 
their croaking and threw down a huge log into the 
swamp. The frogs were frightened out of their lives 
by the commotion made in their midst, and all rushed 
to the bank to look at the horrible monster; but, after 
a time, seeing that it did not move, one or two of the 
boldest of them moved toward the log, and even dared 
to touch it; still it did not move. Then the greatest 
hero of the frogs jumped upon the log and com- 
menced dancing up and down upon it, thereupon 
all the frogs came and did the same; and for some 
time the frogs went about their business every day 
without taking the slightest notice of their new King 
Log, lying in their midst. But this did not suit 
them, so they sent another petition to Jove, and said 
unto him : "We want a real king ; one that will really 
rule over us." Now this made Jove angry, so he sent 
among them a huge stork that soon set to work to 
gobbling them all up. Then the frogs repented when 
it was too late. 

—Adapted from Aesop. 

§ 



100 THE BLUE BOOK 



VANITY 



Illustration : The Maid and the Eggs. 



When men suffer their imagination to amuse them 
with the prospect of distant and uncertain improve- 
ments of their condition, they frequently sustain real 
losses, by their inattention to those affairs in which 
they are immediately concerned. 

A country maid was walking very deliberately 
with a pail of milk on her head, when she fell into the 
following train of reflections : "The money for which 
I shall sell this milk, will enable me to increase my 
stock of eggs to three hundred. These eggs, allowing 
for what may prove addle, and what may be destroyed 
by vermin, will produce at least two hundred and 
fifty chickens. The chickens will be fit to carry to the 
market about Christmas, when poultry bears a good 
price; so that by May-day I can not fail of having 
money enough to purchase a new gown. Green ! — 
let me consider — yes, green becomes my complexion 
best, and green it shall be. In this dress I will go 
to the fair, where all the young fellows will strive to 
have me for a partner; but I shall refuse every one 
of them and, with an air of disdain, toss from them." 

Transported with this triumphant thought, she could 
not refrain from acting with her head what had thus 
passed in her imagination, when down came the pail 
of milk, and with it all her imaginary happiness. 

— Webster's Spelling Book. 



T II E BLUE BOOK 101 



AXE TO GRIND 



Illustration: A Story of Franklin. 



When I was a little boy, I remember, one cold win- 
ter's morning, I was accosted by a smiling man with 
an axe on his shoulder. "My pretty boy," said he, 
"has your father a grindstone ?" 

"Yes, sir," said I. 

"You are a fine little fellow !" said he. "Will you 
let me grind my axe on it 1 ?" 

Pleased with the compliment of "Fine little fellow," 
"Oh, yes, sir," I answered. "It is down in the shop." 

"Arid will you, my little man," said he, patting me 
on the head, "get me a little hot water V 

How could I refuse 1 ? I ran and soon brought a 
kettle full. "How old are you?' — and what's your 
name?" continued he, without waiting for a reply. 
"I'm sure you are one of the finest lads I have ever 
seen. Will you just turn a few times for me?" 

Tickled with the flattery, like a little fool, I went 
to work, and bitterly did I rue the day. It was a 
new axe and I toiled and tugged until I was almost 
tired to death. The school bell rang arid I could not 
get away. My hands were blistered and the axe was 
not half ground. At length, however, it was sharp- 
ened, and the man turned to me with "Now you little 
rascal, you've played truant ! Scud to school, or you'll 
rue it !" 

"Alas!" thought I, "it was hard enough to turn a 
grindstone this cold day, but to be called a little 
rascal is too much." 

It sank deep in my mind, and often have I thought 
of it since. When I see a merchant over-polite to his 



102 THE BLUE BOOK 

customers, begging them to take a little brandy, and 
showing goods on his counter, thinks I, "That man 
has an axe to grind." 

When I see a man hoisted into office by party 
spirit without a single qualification to render him 
either respectable or useful, "Alas !" methinks, "de- 
luded people, you are doomed for a season to turn 
the grindstone for somebody." 

— Benjamin Franklin. 



CHOOSING COMPANIONS 



Illustration: The Two Dogs. 



Hasty and inconsiderate connections are generally 
attended with great disadvantages; and much of every 
man's good or ill fortune depends upon the choice 
he makes of his friends. 

A good-natured spaniel overtook a sturdy mastiff 
as he was travelling upon the high road. Tray, al- 
though an entire stranger to Tiger, very civilly ac- 
costed him ; and if it would be no interruption, he said, 
he would be glad to bear him company on his way. 
Tiger, who happened to be not altogether in so growl- 
ing a mood as usual, accepted the proposal; and they 
very amicably pursued their journey together. In the 
midst of their conversation, they arrived at the next 
village, where Tiger began to display his malignant 
disposition, by an unprovoked attack on almost every 
dog he met. The villagers immediately sallied forth 
with great indignation to rescue their respective fav- 
orites; and falling upon our poor friends without 
distinction or mercy, poor Tray was most cruelly 
treated, for no other reason than his being found in 
bad company. —Webster's Spelling Book. 



THE BLUE BOOK 103 



CHRISTIANITY 



Illustration: Beecher and Ingersoll. 



It is said that in a small company of men, Colonel 
Ingersoll was one day indulging in his assaults on 
Christianity. Among his hearers was Henry Ward 
Beecher, who seemed to be listening in an abstracted 
way. When the blatant infidel had done, the old man 
slowly lifted himself from his attitude and replied : 

"If you will excuse me for changing the conversa- 
tion, I will say that while you gentlemen were talking, 
my mind was bent on a most deplorable spectacle 
which I witnessed today. " 

"What was that?" at once inquired Colonel Inger- 
soll, who notwithstanding his peculiar views of the 
hereafter, was noted for his kindness of heart. 

"Why," said Mr. Beecher, "as I was walking down 
town today, I saw a poor lame man with crutches 
slowly and carefully picking his way through a cess- 
pool of mud in the endeavor to cross the street. He 
had just reached the middle of the filth, when a big, 
burly ruffian, himself all bespattered, rushed up to 
him, jerked the crutches from under the unfortunate 
man, and left him sprawling in helplessness in the. 
pool of liquid dirt, which almost engulfed him." 

"What a brute he was!" said the Colonel. 

"What a brute he was!" they all echoed. 

"Yes," said the old man, rising from his chair and 
brushing back his long white hair, while his eyes glit- 
tered with their old-time fire as they bent on Ingersoll, 
"yes, Colonel Ingersoll and you are the man. The 
human soul is lame, but Christianity gives it crutches 



104 



1 "HE BLUE BOOK 



to enable it to pass on the highway of life. It is 
your teachings that knock these crutches from under 
it, and leave it a helpless, rudderless wreck in the 
slough of despond. If robbing a human soul of its 
only support on this earth — religion — be your profes- 
sion, why, ply it to your heart's content. It requires 
an architect to erect a building; an incendiary may 
reduce it to ashes." 

— Pier son. 



COMPENSATION 



Illustration : The Town Mouse and the Coun- 
try Mouse. 



Now you must know that town mouse once upon a 
time went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He 
was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his 
town friend and made him heartily welcome. Beans 
and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, 
but he offered them freely. The town mouse rather 
turned up his nose at this country fare, and said : 
"I can not understand, cousin, how you can put up 
with such poor food as this, but of course you can 
not expect anything better in the country; come with 
me and I will show you how to live. When you have 
been in town a week, you will wonder how you ever 
stood country life." No sooner said than done; the 
two mice set off for town and arrived at the town 
mouse's residence late at night. "You will want some 
refreshment after our long journey," said the polite 
town mouse, and took his friend into a grand dining- 



THE BLUE B OK 105 

room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, 
and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes 
and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard a growl- 
ing and barking. "What was that?" said the country 
mouse. "It is only the dogs of the house/' answered 
the other. "Only," said the country mouse, "I do not 
like that music at my dinner." Just then the door 
flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two 
mice had to scamper down and run off. "Good-bye, 
cousin," said the country mouse. "What ! going so 
soon?" said the other. "Yes," he replied: "Better 
beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear." 

— Adapted from Aesop. 



DISCIPLINE 



Illustration : Trained by Discipline. 



The parent eagle trains the young to fly — the thorn, 
planted in the side of the nest, makes the fledgling 
uncomfortable if it nestles down too long in the eyrie; 
and, if need be, the mother pushes the young bird 
off the ledge of the cliff, and lets it fall screaming 
into the abyss — sees it tumble, screeching and appar- 
ently doomed to be dashed to pieces; but the mother 
bird, watching, drops like a plummet, with incredible 
rapidity, beneath the young bird, and receives it on 
the broad maternal wings and bears it up to the 
heights, only to let it drop again; until, by and by, 
the fledgling is prepared, as the mother bird swoops 
down to arrest its fall, to take wing and follow the 
parent in her majestic flight. 

— Pierson. 



106 



THE BLUE BOOK 



DUTY 



Illustration : Among the Ruins of Pompeii. 



While digging among the ruins of Pompeii, which 
was buried by the dust and ashes from an eruption of 
Vesuvius, A. D. 79, the workmen found the skeleton 
of a Roman soldier in the sentry box at one of the 
city's gates. He might have found safety under the 
sheltering rocks close by, but, in the face of certain 
death, he had remained at his post, a mute witness to 
the discipline and fidelity which made the Roman 
legionaries masters of the known world. Bulwer, de- 
scribing the flight of the party amid the ashes, and 
streams of boiling water, and huge hurtling fragments 
of scoria, and gusty winds, and lurid lightnings, con- 
tinues : "The air was now still for a few moments ; 
the lamp from the gate streamed out far and clear; 
the fugitives hurried on. They gained the gate. They 
passed by the Roman sentry. The lightning flashed 
over his livid face and polished helmet, but his stern 
features were composed even in their awe! He re- 
mained erect and motionless at his post. That hour 
itself had not animated the machine of the ruthless 
majesty of Rome into a reasoning and self-acting man. 
There he stood amidst the crashing elements; he 
had not received the permission to desert his station 
and escape." 

— Mar den. 



THE BLUE BOOK 107 



EDUCATION 



Illustration: The Jukes and Edwards. 



Some years ago in the state of New York, there 
lived a family which played an expensive, if not a 
prominent part, in the history of the commonwealth. 
The head of it was a man called Jukes. He was a 
jovial character, living a free, hand-to-mouth sort of 
existence and working only under the pressure of ac- 
tual want. A shiftless vagabond was he, addicted to 
whiskey and other bad habits. He lived with a woman 
no better than himself, and the descendants of these 
two worthless characters occupy a large space in the 
criminal record of their native state. Their children 
were neglected — it was before the days of compulsory 
education — and this was true also of their children's 
children, down to recent years. So far as is known, 
none of them attended school and little or no effort 
was made to train them. These gypsy-like people 
lived for years among the rocks and hills of certain 
counties in Northern New York. The frequent ap- 
pearance of their names in the criminal record at last 
attracted attention and a careful investigation into 
their lives followed. This disclosed the facts that 
seven had been convicted of murder, one hundred and 
thirty were sent to the various prisons of the state, 
and three hundred and ten were sent to the asylums 
for paupers. By actual figures, it was found that 
this neglected family had cost the state of New 
York for maintenance and legal expense, several mil- 
lion dollars. 

In the same section of our country lived another 



108 THE BLUE BOOH 

family. Its head was the great divine, Jonathan 
Edwards, and the old adage about minister's sons was 
certainly incorrect with regard to him. He and his 
wife had several children, but in spite of small means 
believed in their education. Their descendants adop- 
ted the same attitude toward schools and insistence up- 
on training and education was a marked characteristic 
of each generation. The history of this family has 
also been written by Dr. Winship. It furnished to 
the United States one Vice-President, three United 
States Senators, sixty authors, one hundred teachers 
and the same number of ministers. In almost every 
department of American life their uplifting influence 
has been felt. They have blest their own times and 
the ages to come, as might have been the case with 
poor Jukes and his family, if they had only been 
trained and cared for instead of neglected and 
shunned. 



ELOQUENCE 



Illustration : Whitfield. 



Dr. Franklin, in his Memoirs, bears witness to the 
extraordinary effect which was produced by Mr. Whit- 
field's preaching in America, and relates an anecdote 
which is equally characteristic of the preacher and 
himself. "I happened/' says the doctor, "to attend 
one of his sermons, in the course of which I per- 
ceived he intended to finish with a collection, and 1 
silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I 
had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three 
or four silver dollars and five pistoles in gold. As he 



THE BLUE BOOK 109 

proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give 
the copper. Another stroke of his oratory made me 
ashamed of that, and determined me to give the silver ; 
and he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket 
wholly into the collector's plate, gold and all. At this 
sermon there was also one of our club; who being 
of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, 
and suggesting a collection might be intended, by 
precaution emptied his pockets before leaving home; 
toward the conclusion of his discourse, however, he 
felt a strong inclination to give and applied to his 
neighbor who stood near to lend him some money for 
the purpose. The request was fortunately made to 
the only man in the company who had the firmness not 
to be affected by the preacher. His answer was, 
"At any other time, friend Hodgkinson, I would lend 
thee freely; but not now, for thee seems to be out of 
thy right senses." 

— Percy Anecdotes. 



HABITS 



Illustration : "Starting Right. 



n 



What a great thing it is to start right in life. 
Every young man can see that the first steps lead to 
the last, with all except his own. No, his little pre- 
varications and dodgings will not make him a liar, but 
he can see that they surely will in John Smith's case. 
He can see that others are idle and on the road to 
ruin, but he can not see it in his own case. 

There is a wonderful relation between bad habits. 
They all belong to the same family. If you take in 



110 THE BLUE BOOK 

one, no matter how small and insignificant it may 
seem, you will soon have the whole. A man who has 
formed the habit of laziness or idleness will soon be 
late at his engagements; any man who does not meet 
his engagements will dodge, apologize, prevaricate 
and lie. I have rarely known a perfectly truthful 
man who was always behind time. 

Rectitude is only the confirmed habit of doing what 
is right. Some men can not tell a lie : the habit of 
truth-telling is fixed; it has become incorporated with 
their nature. Their characters bear the indelible stamp 
of veracity. You and I know men whose slightest 
word is unimpeachable; nothing could shake our con- 
fidence in them. There are other men who can not 
speak the truth : their habitual insincerity has made 
a twist in their characters and this twist appears in 
their speech. 

"How shall I a habit break 1 ? 
As you did that habit make. 
As you gathered, you must lose; 
As you yielded, now refuse. 
Thread by thread, the strands we twist 
Till they bind us, neck and wrist. 
Thread by thread the patient hand 
Must untwine ere we free stand. 
As we builded, stone by stone, 
We must toil, unhelped, alone, 
Till the wall is overthrown." 

— O'Reilhj. 

— Harden. 



THE B LUE B K 111 



HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 



Illustration : Humble Beginnings of a Few 

Famous Persons. 



Ben Jonson, when following his trade of a mason, 
worked on Lincoln's Inn in London with a trowel in 
hand, a book in his pocket. Joseph Hunter was a 
carpenter in youth, Robert Burns a plowman, Keats 
a druggist, Thomas Carlyle and Hugh Miller masons. 
Dante and Discartes were soldiers. Andrew Johnson 
was a tailor. Cardinal Wolsey, Defoe, and Kirke 
White were butchers' sons. Farady was the son of 
a blacksmith, and his teacher, Humphrey Davy was 
an apprentice to an apothecary. Kepler was a waiter 
boy in a German hotel, Bunyan a tinker, Copernicus 
the son of a Polish baker. The boy Herschel played 
the oboe for his meals. Marshal Ney, the "bravest of 
the brave," rose from the ranks. His great industry 
earned for him the name of the "Indefatigable." Soult 
served fifteen years before he was made a sergeant. 
When made foreign minister of France, he knew very 
little of geography even. Richard Cobden was a boy 
in a London warehouse. His first speech in Parliament 
was a complete failure; but he was not afraid of 
defeat, and soon became one of the greatest orators 
of the day. Seven shoemakers sat in Congress during 
the first century of our government : Roger Sherman, 
Henry Wilson, Gideon Lee, William Graham, John 
Halley, H. P. Baldwin, and Daniel Snefru ey. 

A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring suc- 
cess from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all 
achievements that are really great. 

"Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
Act well thy part; there all the credit lies." 

■ — Selected, 



112 THE BLUE BOOK 



LEARNING 



Illustration: "Read and You Will Know." 



"Mother, what are the clouds made of? Why does 
the rain fall? Where does all the rain water go? 
What good does it do?" 

Little William Jones was always asking questions. 

"I want to know/' he said; "I want to know every- 
thing." 

At first his mother tried to answer all his questions. 
But after he had learned to read, she taught him to 
look in books for that which he wished to know. 

"Mother, what makes the wind blow?" 

"Read, and you will know, my child." 

"Who lives on the other side of the world?" 

"Read, and you will know." 

"Why is the sky so blue?" 

"Read, and you will know." 

"Oh, mother, I would like to know everything." 

"You can never know everything, my child. But 
you can learn many things from books." 

"Yes, mother, I will read and then I will know." 

He was a very little boy then, but before he was 
three years old he could read quite well. When eight 
years of age, he was a famous scholar at the school 
at Harrow. He was always reading, learning, in- 
quiring. 

"I want to know; I want to know," he kept saying. 

"Read, and you will know," said his mother. "Read 
books that are true. Read about things that are beau- 
tiful and good. Read in order to be wise. 

"Do not waste your time in reading foolish books. 



THE BLUE BOOK 113 

Do not read bad books, they will make you bad. No 
book is worth reading that does not make you better 
or wiser." 

And so William Jones went on reading and learn- 
ing. He became one of the most famous scholars in 
the world. The king of England made him a Knight 
and called him Sir William Jones. 

Sir William Jones lived nearly two hundred years 
ago. He was noted for his great knowledge, the most 
of which he had obtained from books. It is said 
that he could speak and write forty languages. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 
Copyright American Book Company. 



LIBERTY 



Song: "My Country, >Tis of Thee." 
Scripture Reading: I Peter 1:13-17. 
Illustration: Arnold Winkelreid. 



A great army was marching into Switzerland. If 
it should go much f arther, there would be no driving 
it out again. The soldiers would burn the towns, they 
would rob the farmers of their grain and sheep, they 
would make slaves of the people. 

The men of Switzerland knew all this. They knew 
that they must fight for their homes and their lives. 
And so they came from the mountains and the valleys 
to try what they could do to save their land. Some 
came with bows and arrows, some with scythes and 
pitch-forks, and some with only sticks and clubs. 

But their foes kept in line as they marched along 
the road. Every soldier was fully armed. As they 
moved and kept close together, nothing could be 



114 THE BLUE BO OK 

seen of them but their spears and shields and shining 
armor. What could these poor country people do 
against such foes as these'? 

"We must break their lines," cried their leader ; "for 
we can not harm them while they keep together." 

The bowmen shot their arrows, but they glanced off 
from the soldiers' shields. Others tried clubs and 
stones, but with no better luck. The lines were still 
unbroken. The soldiers moved steadily onward; their 
shields lapped over one another ; their thousand spears 
looked like so many long bristles in the sunlight. 
What cared they for sticks and stones and hunts- 
men's arrows'? 

"If we can not break their ranks," said the Swiss, 
"we have no chance for fight, and our country will 
be lost!" 

Then a poor man whose name was Arnold Winkel- 
reid, stepped out. 

"On yonder side of the mountain," said he, "I have 
a happy home. There my wife and children wait 
for my return. But they will not see me again, for 
this day I will give my life for my country. And 
do you, my friends, so do your duty and Switzerland 
shall be free." 

With these words, he ran forward. "Follow me !" 
he cried to his friends. "I will break the lines, and 
then let every man fight as bravely as he can." 

He had nothing in his hands, neither club, nor stone, 
nor other weapon. But he ran straight onward to the 
place where the spears were thickest. 

"Make way for liberty," he cried, as he dashed 
right into the lines. 

A hundred spears were turned to catch him upon 
their points. The soldiers forgot to stay in their places. 
The lines were broken. Arnold's friends rushed brave- 



THE BLUE B K 115 

ly after him. They fought with whatever they had 
in hand. They snatched spears and shields from 
their foes. They had no thought of fear. They only 
thought of their homes and their dear native land. 
And they won at last. 

Such a battle no one ever knew before. But Swit- 
zerland was saved, and Arnold Winkelreid did not 
die in vain. 

— Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories. 



Make Way for Liberty. 

"Make way for liberty !" he cried; 
Made way for liberty, and died! 

In arms the Austrian phalanx stood, 

A living wall, a human wood ! 

A wall, where every conscious stone 

Seemed to its kindred thousands grown; 

A rampart all assaults to bear, 

Till time to dust, their frames shall wear; 

A wood like that enchanted grove, 

In which, with fiends, Rinaldo strove, 

Where every silent tree possessed 

A spirit prisoned in its breast, 

Which the first stroke of coming strife 

Would startle into hideous life : 

So dense, so still, the Austrians stood, 

A living wall, a human wood! 

Impregnable their front appears, 
All horrent with projected spears, 
Whose polished points before them shine, 
From flank to flank, one brilliant line, 
Bright as the breakers' splendors run 
Along the billows to the sun. 



116 THE BLUE BOOK 

Opposed to these, a hovering band 

Contended for their native land; 

Peasants, whose new-found strength had broke 

From manly necks the ignoble yoke, 

And forged their fetters into swords, 

On equal terms to fight their lords; 

And what insurgent rage had gained, 

In many a mortal fray maintained : 

Marshaled once at Freedom's call, 

They come to conquer or to fall, 

Where he who conquered, he who fell, 

Was deemed a dead, or living Tell. 

And now the work of life and death 

Hung on the passing of a breath; 

The fire of conflict burned within; 

The battle trembled to begin; 

Yet,, while the Austrians held their ground, 

Point for attack was nowhere found; 

Where'er the impatient Switzers gazed, 

The unbroken line of lances blazed; 

That line 't were suicide to meet, 

And perish at the tyrant's feet; 

How could they rest within their graves, 

And leave their homes the homes of slaves'? 

Would they not feel their children tread 

With clanking chains above their head 1 ? 

It must not be: tlds day, ibis hour, 
Annihilates the oppressor's power; 
All Switzerland is in the field, 
She will not fly, she can not yield; 
She must not fall; her better fate 
Here gives her an immortal date. 
Few were the numbers she could boast, 
But every freeman was a host, 



THE BLUE BOOK 117 

And felt as though himself were he 
On whose sole arm hung victory. 

It did depend on one indeed: 
Behold him ! Arnold Winkelreid ! 
There sounds not to the trump of fame 
The echo of a nobler name. 
Unmarked he stood amid the throng, 
In rumination deep and long, 
Till you might see, with sudden grace, 
The very thought come o'er his face; 
And by the motion of his form, 
Anticipate the bursting storm; 
And by the uplifting of his brow, 
Tell, where the bolt would strike, and how, 
But 'twas no sooner thought than done; 
The field was in a moment won. 

"Make way for liberty!" he cried: 

Then ran, with arms extended wide, 

As if his dearest friend to clasp ; 

Ten spears he swept within his grasp : 
"Make way for liberty !" he cried. 

Their keen points met from side to side; 

He bowed among them like a tree, 

And thus made way for liberty. 

Swift to the breach his comrades fly; 
"Make way for liberty!" they cry, 
And through the Austrian phalanx dart, 
As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart; 
While instantaneous as his fall, 
Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all. 
An earthquake could not overthrow 
A city with a surer blow. 
Thus Switzerland again was free, 
Thus death made way for liberty. 

— James Montgomery. 



118 THE BLUE BOOK 



LIFE 



Illustration : Life. 



The stanza, .given below, was written by Mrs. 
Barbauld in extreme old age. Our admiration grows 
with every reading, and it seems to us increasingly 
beautiful. The poet Rogers regarded it as one of 
the finest things in English literature. Henry Crabbe 
Robinson says that he repeated the stanza to Words- 
worth twice and then heard him muttering to him- 
self, "I am not in the habit of grudging other people 
their good things, but I wish I had written those lines 
myself.' 7 It is stated that in his last moments Dr. 
Fuller said to his nephew, Dr. Cuthbert, on taking 
leave of him, "Good night, James — but it will soon be 
good morning I" Perhaps the echo of this stanza was 
in the ear of the dying preacher : 

Life ! we have been long together, 
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather; 
? Tis hard to part when friends are dear, 
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear; 
Then steal away, give little warning; 
Choose thine own time, 

Say not, Good night ! but, in some brighter clime, 
Bid me Good morning! 

— Percy Anecdotes. 



THE BLUE BOOK 119 



READING 



Illustration : Carefulness in Reading. 



Ralph Wajdo Emerson's advice was never to read 
a book till it has been out a year, supposing that length 
of time necessary to show whether the volume has, as 
the French say, "a reason for being." 

One should not read everything that intrudes itself 
on his notice any more than one should admit to his 
companionship every person whom he meets. "Books, 
like friends, should be few and well-chosen." 

There is always a danger of reading too much, but 
the best authors may be read many times with profit. 
Dr. Johnson's method was, when he had read some- 
thing he particularly wished to remember, to tell it 
to some appreciative friend and thus fix it in his 
mind. 

The modern novel may become a "thief of time." 
Reading too much fiction saps the mental powers as 
surely as dissipation weakens the body. 

At one of our public libraries quite recently a boy 
was reported who had actually read one hundred and 
two novels or short stories in ninety-one days. To a 
large class of readers our public libraries are only 
known as containing a supply of the most exciting 
tales, and it becomes a question whether it is right 
and best to furnish any literature but that which in- 
structs and elevates. 

— Pierson. 



120 THE BLUE BOOK 



RICHES 



Illustration : Solon. 



Solon was one of the wise men of Greece. He it 
was who gave that clever answer to Croesus, King of 
Lydia. Croesus was so rich that even now it is com- 
mon to say "as rich as Croesus." This king showed 
his wealth to Solon, and then asked "if he did not 
think the possessor of so much gold the happiest 
of men." "No," repied the philosopher; "I know a 
happier man : an honest laborer who has just enough 
to live on." 

"And who is the next happiest'?" asked the king, 
expecting himself to be named. "The next happiest," 
answered Solon, "are the two virtuous sons who were 
remarkable for their duty and kindness to their 
mother." "And think you not that I am happy ?" 
exclaimed the disappointed monarch. "No man can 
be deemed happy till his death," said the sage; mean- 
ing, I suppose, that according as his life is spent 
could his state be judged. 

When Croesus was afterward taken prisoner by 
Cyrus, and was about to be burnt, he recollected this 
conversation, and cried out : "0, Solon, Solon !" Cy- 
rus inquired the meaning of this exclamation, and 
when the cause of it was explained, he set Croesus at 
liberty, and owned himself instructed by the hint of 
Solon. So the philosopher saved the life of one king 
and improved another. 

— Adapted from Herodotus. 



THE BLUE B OK 121 



SOUL 

Song : "I Will Sing You a Song of That Beau- 
tiful Land." 
Scripture Reading : Matthew 16 : 24-27. 
Illustration: In a Glass Case. 



Two or three young men in Washington went to 
the National Museum. Passing a cabinet they glanced 
at the label on it, on which were the words: "The 
body of a man weighing one hundred and fifty-four 
pounds." 

"Where is the man 1 ?" one of the young men asked. 
No one answered him. In the cabinet were arranged 
an odd assemblage of heterogeneous articles. Among 
them were two large jars of water; also jars contain- 
ing various kinds of fats; other jars in which were 
phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, a few ounces 
each of sugar, potassium, sodium, gelatine, and other 
chemicals. Another section held a row of clear glass 
jars filled with the gases — hydrogen, nitrogen and 
oxygen; a square lump of coal, and more bottles 
separately labelled phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, 
potassium. In a little jar was a fraction of an ounce 
of iron, and near by a lump of ill-smelling brimstone, 
The materials in these cabinets are given in the ex- 
act proportions as combined in an ordinary man. 

The young men stood silent, staring at what seemed 
to them a gruesome assortment of carbon and sugar 
and gas and iron, with a certain awe and disgust. "And 
that is what I am made of?" one of them said, "that 
is all that goes to make — mef "That is all," said 
a bystander, smiling, and walked on. 



122 THE BLUE B OK 

"If that is all that is needed/ 7 said one, "so much 
gas, so much lime, so much iron, we should all be 
exactly alike. There is something which can not be 
put into cabinets." "Yes/ 7 said another under his 
breath, "that added by the unseen Power, who puts 
into these senseless elements that which makes man 
a living soul." They stood a moment, and then passed 
on in silence. To each of them his own soul and his 
God had suddenly become real, before these cabinets, 
filled with all the essentials for the making of a man 
i — but one. — Exchange. 



THE TRUE GENTLEMAN 



Illustration: The True Gentleman, a Defini- 
tion. 



It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that 
he is one who never inflicts pain. He carefully avoids 
whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the mind of 
those with whom he is cast — all clashing of opinion 
or collision ^of feeling, all restraint or suspicion or 
gloom or resentment; his great concern being to make 
everyone at ease or at home. He has his eyes on all 
of his company, he is tender toward the bashful, 
gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the 
absurd. He can recollect to whom he is speaking; 
he guards against allusion to unseasonable topics which 
may irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversation 
and never wearisome. He makes light of favors when 
he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is 
conferring. He never speaks of himself, except when 
compelled and never defends himself by a mere re- 
tort; he has no care for slander or for gossip, is 



THE BLUE BOOK 123 

scrupulous in imputing motives to those who inter- 
fere with him, and interprets everything for the 
best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, never 
takes unfair advantages, never mistakes personalities 
or sharp arguments, or insinuates evils which he 
dare not say out. From long-sighted prudence, he 
observes the maxim of the ancient sage "that we 
should ever conduct ourselves toward our enemy as 
though he were our friend." He has too much sense 
to be affronted at insults. He is too well employed 
to remember injuries and too indolent to bear malice. 
He is patient, forbearing, and resigned to philosophic 
principles; he submits to pain because it is inevitable, 
to bereavement because it is irreparable, and to 
death because it is his destiny. 

— Cardinal Newman. 



TWO SIDES TO A QUESTION 



Illustration : The Lion and the Statue. 



A man and a lion were discussing the relative 
strength of men and lions in general. The man con- 
tended that he and his fellows were stronger than 
the lions by reason of their greater intelligence. "Come 
now with me," he cried, "and I will soon prove that I 
am right." So he took him into the public gardens 
and showed him the statue of Hercules overcoming the 
lion and tearing his mouth in two. 

"That is all very well," said the lion, "but proves 
nothing, for it was a -man who made the statue." 

"We can easily represent things as we wish them 
to be." — Aesop. 



124 TR E BLUE BOOK 



TRUTH 



Illustration: Statue of Truth. 



In Aurora, N. Y., is an institution for the educa- 
tion of young ladies. In its parlor stands a marble 
statue, a symbolic feminine figure of full life-size. 
The face expresses womanly sweetness, blended with 
heroic resolve, befitting the helmet on the head, and 
the sword in the right hand. An open lily lies upon 
the pure bosom; the left hand gathers the fold of 
the robe, as if keeping it from contact from something 
that might soil its whiteness; the point of the sword 
touches the pedestal near the feet, and close beside 
lies a mask. As the eye glances down along the figure, 
it falls at last on the inscription in front of the pil- 
lar, "Truth." She has smitten the face of dissimula- 
tion, and carefully holds her white garment away 
from the defiling touch of her foe. The power of that 
silent statue is wonderful. It tells of the awful 
loveliness of truth; of such absolute sincerity that 
dissimulation is unmasked and put to shame. What 
a regeneration of social life there would be, if only 
truth should purify social intercourse ! "In such an 
atmosphere men would rise to noble manhood, and 
human speech from the lips of man or woman would 
become a power, filling with nobler and holier mean- 
ing than we have yet conceived, that deep word 
eloquence." 

— Dr. H. A. Nelson. 



THE BLUE BOOK 125 



ARBOR DAY 



Song: Air: "Maryland, My Maryland." 



Again we come this day to greet, 

Arbor Day, sweet Arbor Day. 
With willing hands and nimble feet, 

Arbor Day, sweet Arbor Day. 

No sweeter theme our time can claim, 

No grander deeds point us to fame, 

No day more proud than this we name, 

Arbor Day, dear Arbor Day. 

Bring forth the trees. Prepare the earth 

For Arbor Day, sweet Arbor Day. 
With song we celebrate the birth 

Of Arbor Day, sweet Arbor Day. 
And when our joyful task is done, 
And we our meed of praise have won, 
The glorious work's but just begun 

For Arbor Day, dear Arbor Day. 



Scripture Reading: Psalm 19. 
Illustration : A Warning from History. 



Canaan in the time of Joshua was "a land flowing 
with milk and honey," that is, says Emil Rothe, 
"it was a country of wonderful fertility, blessed with 
a delightful climate. Both ranges of the Lebanon 
Mountains were then densely covered with forests. Its 
large and constantly increasing population, however, 
enjoyed comfort and abundance during the centuries. 



126 THE BLUE BOOK 

But the general devastation of the forests brought 
about a gradual deterioration of the country. 

"The hills of Galilee, once the rich pasturing 
grounds for herds of cattle, are now sterile knobs. 
The Jordan has for ages been an insignificant stream, 
and the several beautiful rivers in Palestine now ap- 
pear as stony runs, being completely dry during the 
greater part of the year. The few cedar trees still 
remaining on the barren and rocky slopes of Lebanon 
look mournfully down upon an arid and desolate 
country, fit to sustain less than a sixth part of the 
population it contained in the time of Solomon. The 
cause of this marked and calamitous change was the 
destruction of the forests." 

Two Teachers and One Arbor Day. 

One Teacher. 

I have in mind one teacher, who a few days before 
Arbor Day, assigned the different parts just as they 
were suggested in the program. On Arbor Day she 
had a perfunctory exercise with recitations of the dif- 
ferent selections; after this all gathered around a lit- 
tle hole dug in hard ground and planted one small 
tree. This closed the work for the day, and the pu- 
pils felt that the principal thing about Arbor Day was 
that they were dismissed earlier than usual. The 
pupils' mind unconsciously receives the thought of 
the teacher. As she thinks, so to a certain extent the 
pupil thinks and acts. This the teacher can not help, 
even if she would. 

The Other Teacher. 

I have in mind another teacher, who very early in 
the spring brought to school a few bulbs, told her 
pupils about them and planted them in pots at various 



THE BLUE BOOK 127 

times. All became interested in watching the green 
sprouts appear, and in watching the daily progress of 
the plants until they bloomed. Gradually the pupils 
were interested and taught, day by day, from this 
little beginning, about flowers. Some time before 
Arbor Day, a few of the older boys spaded up the plot 
of ground set aside for their park. This was then 
fertilized by materials brought from a neighboring 
barn yard, and on Arbor Day a number of rose 
bushes and choice trees were set out. Then the 
program was given, and each pupil felt a special in- 
terest in each selection. The work did not stop there, 
for the boys and girls began to ask for books giving 
particular instructions in caring for plants. Then 
some of them began to ask the teacher's help in ar- 
ranging a flower garden for home. Which teacher 
do you prefer to be? 

— California School Report. 



BIRD DAY 



Song: "Listen to the Mocking-Bird." 
Scripture Reading : Matthew 6 : 26-32. 
Illustration : Our Feathered Friends. 



Did you ever stop to think how much we owe the 
birds for their care of our spreading shade trees, our 
fruitful orchards and our verdant woods'? 

The bird is just as necessary to the tree as the tree 
is to the bird. The tree furnishes the bird' with 
nesting places, shelter and food. It bears buds, blos- 
soms, and seeds which birds eat, and also furnishes 
food for insects and animals on which birds feed. 



128 THE BLUE B OK 

Birds guard all parts of the tree from injurious 
attacks of its insect enemies. The young larvae of 
beetles and cicadas live in the ground where they 
feed on roots. Birds which feed much on the ground 
scratch or dig up such larvae or grubs, or catch the 
beetles and cicadas when they come up out of the 
ground and fly about and mate. These insects form 
a favorite food of very many birds. Other insects 
which feed on the tree bury themselves in the ground 
and undergo their transformations; others still hide 
among the dead leaves of the forest floor. Such 
insects are sought out by scratching birds, like the 
partridge or brown thrasher. 

The grubs or boring insects are dug out of their 
hiding places by woodpeckers. These birds are of 
great service, for a borer will sometimes kill a tree and 
a single woodpecker often destroys many borers in 
one day. Insects that eat buds and leaves are hunted 
by warblers, vireos, thrushes, orioles, tanagers, cuck- 
oos — a host of birds that feed much along the foliage 
of trees. Insects that hide in the crevices of the 
bark are hunted by chickadees, creepers and nut- 
hatches. Insects that reach the flight stage and fly 
about among the trees are taken on the wing by 
flycatchers; while those that reach the upper air are 
pursued by swallows, swifts, or nighthawks. 

When we realize that the unchecked increase of 
one species of insect might easily be sufficient to 
enable it, in one season, to destroy most of the trees 
in the woods, and when we consider that the birds re- 
strain the increase of hundreds of species of insects, 
then we can appreciate the value of birds as protec- 
tors of tree. It is now well understood that the birds 
and other natural enemies of insects ordinarily keep 



THE BLUE B OK 129 

most tree pests so well in check that they do no great 
or serious injury to trees. 

But possibly the most useful bird to crops are bob- 
whites, the common partridge. The agricultural re- 
ports of the southern states, especially Virginia, show 
that annually several hundred of pernicious weed 
seeds are destroyed by bob whites. 

While we can do little to multiply these insects 
that feed upon other insects, we can protect useful 
birds, and so bring about their increase. An increase 
of birds always occurs where conditions are favorable. 
Tree planting in the prairie states was followed by 
a multiplication of the numbers of insectivorous birds. 

Even if our feathered friends were not of practical 
value, they would still be indispensable to the world's 
best happiness. As little messengers of good cheer, 
as exponents of grace, song and living beauty, as 
examples of parental devotion, they help to brighten 
and uplift our lives. All that we can do to render 
their lives freer, safer, and happier should be done 
as a duty — as the willing payment of an obligation 
we owe. 

— Adapted from the Montana 

Manual. 



In the Garden. 

A bird came down the walk; 

He did not know I saw; 

He bit an angle worm in halves 

And ate the fellow, raw. 

And then he drank a dew 

From a convenient grass, 

And then hopped sidewise to the wall 

To let a beetle pass, 

• — Dickinson. 



130 THE BLUE BO OK 



GEORGIA DAY 



Song : "Georgia School Song." 
Poem: Selected. 

Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land ? 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned 
As home his footsteps he hath turned 
From wandering on a foreign strand? 
If there such breathe, go mark him well j 
For him no minstrel raptures swell; 
High though his tale, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, 
Despite these titles, power and pelf, 
The wretch, concentrated all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. 

Sir Walter Scott. 



"Reading : Georgia in Outline. 



On February 12, 1773, General James Edward Ogle- 
thorpe with 126 persons landed in Savannah, and 
named the new state for King George II. Originally 
the limits of Georgia extended to the Mississippi River 
and included the territory now occupied by Alabama 
and Mississippi. At this time the state was occupied 
by Indians — Creeks or Muscogees in the southern part 
and Cherokees in the northern. Tomochichi, the In- 



THE BLUE B OK 131 

dian chief, received the white people kindly, and 
giving Oglethorpe a buffalo robe with an eagle painted 
upon it, said, "The feathers are soft and signify love; 
the buffalo skin is warm and means protection. 
Therefore, we ask you to love and protect our little 
ones." Later some German immigrants, called Salz- 
burgers, driven from their homes by persecution, 
settled a few miles from Savannah. After the Rev- 
olution many came from Virginia and North Carolina, 
some of them being granted tracts of land by the 
Government for services in that great struggle. These 
were chiefly English and Scotch-Irish, who have al- 
ways constituted the main element of the white pop- 
ulation. Georgia was one of the thirteen original 
states taking an active part in the war for freedom 
which the colonies waged against England. In 1861 
she seceded from the Union and furnished a large 
number of soldiers to the Confederacy. The battles 
of Chickamauga, Kennesaw Mountain and Atlanta 
were important contests fought on her soil. 

Georgia has an area of 59,475 square miles of 
which 495 are under water, and is the largest state 
east of the Mississippi. There are three distinct di- 
visions, North, Middle and South Georgia. The 
highest mountains are in Towns County, Sitting Bull 
having an elevation of 5,046 feet above the sea level 
and Mona 5,030 feet. Stone Mountain, 16 miles 
from Atlanta, is a mass of granite 1,688 feet high. 
There are nine climate belts found in the United 
States and eight of these are represented in Georgia. 
In the northern part of the state the average July 
temperature is from 75 degrees to 80 degrees and in 
the southern from 80 to 85 degrees. The average 
rainfall is 49 inches, the highest at Rabun Gap and 
the lowest at Swainsboro. 



132 THE BLUE BOOK 

The soil is generally fertile. In the middle section 
it is usually red and in the southern sandy. Texas 
is the only state in the union which produces more 
cotton. Georgia watermelons, peaches, sugar-cane, and 
other agricultural products are widely known. In the 
southern part of the state there are large forests of 
long leaf pine, which furnish excellent lumber, tur- 
pentine and resin. The northern section has consid- 
erable mineral resources ; gold, iron, aluminum, marble, 
slate, and even precious stones are found in several 
counties. 

The census of 1910 shows a total population of 
2,609,121. Largely an agricultural state, the major- 
ity of her people taking part in this industry, Geor- 
gia stands in the front rank of the southern states 
in manufacturing. The largest cotton mills are at 
Augusta and Columbus. There are 152 counties. The 
largest cities are Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon 
and Columbus. She has colleges of note for both men 
and women and besides many high schools, each con- 
gressional district has one devoted especially to train- 
ing in agriculture. The state appropriates over two 
and a half millions to the education of her children, 
and this sum is supplemented in all of the cities and 
towns and many counties. There are three departments 
of Government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. 
The Legislative consists of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, forming the General Assembly. The 
Executive Department is composed of the Governor, 
Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Comptroller-Gen- 
eral, Commissioner of Agriculture, State School Sup- 
erintendent, Attorney-General, Pension Commissioner, 
Railroad Commission, Prison Commission, Adjutant- 
General. The Judicial Department consists of the 
Supreme Court of six members and the Appellate 
Court of three. 



THE BLUE BOOK 133 

The roll of her great men and women is long. Some 
of those who have been in the cabinets of the National 
and Confederate Governments are : Crawford, For- 
syth, Cobb, Gordon, Brown, Smith, Crisp, Stephens 
and Toombs. Perhaps the leading figure in many 
ways during the period since the war was Henry 
W. Grady. 

My State. 

I owe my state pride in its beauty, its extent, its 
progress. 

I owe my state love of its history and its tradi- 
tion, and obedience to its laws. 

I owe my state a patriot's heart, a citizen's interest 
and industry, a family's health and happiness. 

And I owe my state one kindly, helpful, tolerant, 
honest, hard-working, law-honoring human being. 

My state owes me protection of life and property. 

A sound elementary education. 

An honest and disinterested government in which I 
can place my trust. 

Reliable public servants. 

Preservation of the great natural resources of my 
land. 

Wise expenditure of public funds. 

A just system of taxation. 

Opportunity to live and work and grow with high 
ideals of truth, probity, and justice. 



134 THE BLUE BOOK 



HEALTH DAY 



Song: "Home, Sweet Home." 
Scripture Reading : Psalm 23. 
Illustration: My Health Creed. 



I will respect my body and health. If I am 
sick, it will very probably be because I have vio- 
lated some one or more of nature's laws. 

I will study the laws of health and will obey them 
for my own sake. 

I will not wet my fingers in my mouth when 
turning the leaves, of a book. 

I will not put pencils in my mouth nor wet then\ 
with my lips. 

I will not put pins or money in my mouth. 

I will use my mouth for eating good, plain food, 
drinking pure water and milk, and for saying good, 
kind words. 

I will always chew my food thoroughly, and never 
drink whiskey or wine. 

I will not cough or sneeze without turning my face 
or holding a handkerchief over my mouth. Polite 
people never cough in public if they can prevent it. 

I will keep my face and hands and finger nails as 
clean as possible. 

I will not spit on floors, stairways, or side-walks, 
and will try not to spit at all; ladies and gentlemen 
avoid this bad habit. 

I will wash out my mouth every morning on getting 



THE BLUE B K 135 

up and at night on going to bed, and will use a 
tooth-brush. 

I will be clean in bodv, clean in mind and avoid 
all bad habits that may give offense to others. 

I will get all the fresh air I can and will open my 
windows wide when I go to bed. 

— From Talks on Health for Georgia Schools. 

M. L. B. 



LABOR DAY 



Song: "Work for the Night is Coming." 



Work for the night is coming, 

Work through the morning hours, 

Work while the dew is sparkling, 

Work 'mid springing flowers, 

Work when the day grows brighter, 

Work in the glowing sun, 

Work for the night is coming, 

When man's work is done. 



Scripture Reading: Proverbs 24:30-34. 
Illustration : Origin of Labor Day. 



For many years different states of the Union have 
set apart a certain day to honor and dignify labor. 
In 1882 the Knights of Labor held their general 
assembly in New York City during the month of 
September, which on the 5tli reviewed a great parade 



136 THE BLUE BOOK 

organized by the Central Labor Union of that city. 
The next year a parade was held on the first Monday 
in September, and in 1884, on the resolution of George 
R. Loyd, one of the Knights of Labor, it was de- 
cided that all future parades should be held on that 
day, and that the day should be known as Labor Day. 
Workingmen's organizations all over the country 
then began an agitation to induce the state legislatures 
to declare the day a legal holiday, and on March 15, 
1887, Colorado led the way. In 1894 Congress passed 
a law, naming the first Monday in September as a 
National holiday. 



LEE'S BIRTHDAY 



Song: "Bonnie Blue Flag." 
Heading: Lee's Life. 



Robert Edward Lee was born in Stratford, West- 
moreland County, Virginia, January 19, 1807, and 
died in Lexington, Virginia, October 12, 1870. He 
was a graduate of West Point Military Academy. 
He was appointed second lieutenant of engineers after 
graduation in 1829, and was assigned to duty in 
Hampton, West Virginia. From 1834 to 1837 he was 
in Washington as assistant to the chief engineer. He 
became captain of engineers after a year at St. 
Louis, where he was engaged in superintending the 
improvement of the Mississippi. He served in the 
Mexican war under General Scott; then for three years 
was stationed at Baltimore, becoming Superintendent 



THE BLUE B OK 137 

of the Academy at West Point in 1855. At the end 
of this time he was ordered to Texas to take com- 
mand of the forces against the Indians. During leave 
of absence he commanded the troops which suppressed 
the John Brown Raid in 1859. In 1861 he resigned 
as Colonel in the Union army, and later became Com- 
mander-in-chief of the Confederate army. Several 
months after the close of the Civil War, he became 
President of Washington College (now Washington 
and Lee University). 



Poem : The Sword of Robert Lee. 



Forth from its scabbard pure and bright 

Flashed the sword of Lee! 
Far in the front of the deadly fight, 
High o'er the brave in the cause of right, 
Its stainless sheen like a beacon light, 

Led us to victory. 

Out of its scabbard, where, full long, 

It slumbered peacefully, 
Roused from its rest by the battle song, 
Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong, 
Guarding the right, avenging the wrong, 

Gleamed the sword of Lee. 

Forth from its scabbard, high in the air, 

Beneath Virginia's sky; 
And they who saw it gleaming there, 
And knew who bore it, knelt to swear 
That where that sword led, they would dare, 

To follow — and to die. 



138 THE BLUE BOOK 

Out of its scabbard! Never hand 

Waved sword from stain as free, 
Nor purer sword led braver band, 
Nor braver bled for brighter land, 
Nor brighter land had cause so grand, 
Nor cause a chief like Lee. 

Forth from its scabbard ! how we prayed 

That sword might victor be; 
And when our triumph was delayed, 
And many a heart grew sore afraid, 
We still hoped on while gleamed the blade 
Of noble Robert Lee. 

Forth from its scabbard all in vain, 
Forth flashed the sword of Lee, 
? Tis shrouded now in its sheath again, 
It sleeps the sleep of our noble slain, 
Defeated, yet without a stain, 
Proudly and peacefully. 

— Abram Joseph Ryan, 



THE BLUE BOOK 139 



LIBRARY DAY 



Song : "Lead Kindly Light. 77 
Scripture Reading : Proverbs 4 : 5-9. 
Illustration: What a Library Does for a 

Town : 



1. Completes its educational equipment, carrying 
on and giving permanent value to the work of the 
schools. 

2. Gives the children of all classes a chance to 
know and love the best in literature. Without the 
public library such a chance is limited to very few. 

3. Minimizes the sale and reading of vicious liter- 
ature in the community, thus promoting mental and 
moral health. 

4. Effects a great saving in money to every reader 
in the community. The library is the application of 
common sense to the problem of supply and demand. 
Through it, every reader in the town can secure at 
a given cost 100 to 1000 times the material for read- 
ing or study he would secure by acting individually. 

5. Appealing to all classes, sects, and degrees of 
intelligence, it is a strong unifying factor in the life 
of the town. 

6. The library is the one thing in which every town 
however poor or isolated, can have something as good 
and inspiring as the greatest city can offer. Neither 
Boston nor New York can provide better books to its 
readers than the humblest town library can easily 
own and supply. 

7. Slowly, but inevitably, raises the tone of the place. 

8. Adds to the material value of property. Real 



140 THE BLUE B OK 

estate agents in the suburbs of large cities never fail 
to advertise the presence of a library, if there be 
one, as giving added value to the lots or houses they 
have for sale. 

* 
Plans for Raising Money for Libraries. 

" 1. Interest some philanthropic citizen to make a 
proposition to give as much money towards the library 
as the school will raise. 

2. Have the school board to make such a proposi- 
tion to the school. 

3. Interest the community in your library and make 
a canvass among your friends and citizens for sub- 
scriptions for your library. 

4. Give school entertainments or a series of en- 
tertainments and charge a small admission fee. 

5. Have a series of spelling matches with other dis- 
tricts, to which a small admission fee is charged. 

6. Secure a good lecturer with whom you can clear 
some money on the sale of tickets. 



MEMORIAL DAY 



Song: "Dixie." 

Scripture Reading: Psalm 133. 

Illustration : The Courtesy of Robert E. Lee. 



Descended though he was from one of the proudest 
and most noble families of the country, General Lee 
was always marked by sympathy and fellow-feeling 
for people everywhere, particularly for the poor and 
unfortunate. 

On one occasion near the close of the war, Pres- 



THE BLUE B OK 141 

ident Davis summoned him to Richmond for a con- 
ference. After it terminated, General Lee boarded 
a train going in the direction of his headquarters with 
the army. He seated himself near the rear of the 
coach and was busily engaged with the plans and 
papers which he had been discussing with President 
Davis. The train was crowded and just before it 
left Richmond, a poor woman came down the car 
trying to find a seat. She had been peddling vege- 
tables in the city during the day and was now re- 
turning to her home. Soiled and begrimed from her 
work with her large baskets on her arm, she was not 
a very pleasant companion in the estimation of some 
of the handsomely dressed men and women. She 
went down the car, therefore, without receiving any 
recognition and it looked as though she would 
have to» stand up after her day of toil during the 
passage home. When she came to the seat which was 
occupied by General Lee, however, he looked up from 
his papers and saw her plight. Immediately, with 
the unfailing courtesy which marked his whole career, 
he rose to his feet and said : "Madam, I see you are 
weary. Won't you share this seat with mef The 
incident was noted by all the passengers and many had 
the grace to blush as they took to themselves the 
lesson taught by their great leader. 

This was not an isolated incident, but was char- 
acteristic of his entire life and made him the ideal of 
those Virginians of the Valley — : 

"The knightliest of a knightly race, 
Who since the days of old, 
Have kept the lamp of victory, 
Alight in hearts of gold." 

— M. L. B. 



142 THE BLUE BOOK 

The Blue and the Gray. 

By the flow of the inland river, 

Whence the fleets of iron have fled, 
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, 
Asleep are the ranks of the dead: 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Under the one, the Blue, 
Under the other, the Gray. 

These in the robings of glory, 

Those in the gloom of defeat, 
All with the battle-blood gory, 
In the dusk of eternity meet : 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Under the laurel, the Blue, 
Under the willow, the Gray. 

From the silence of sorrowful hours 

The desolate mourners go, 
Lovingly laden with flowers 

Alike for the friend and the foe: 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Under the roses, the Blue, 
Under the lilies, the Gray. 

So, with an equal splendor, 

The morning sun-rays fall, 
With a touch impartially tender, 
On the blossoms blooming for all: 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
'Broidered with gold, the Blue, 
Mellowed with gold, the Gray. 



THE BLUE B OK 143 

So, when the summer calleth, 

On forest and field and grain, 
With an equal murmer falleth 
The cooling drip of the rain : 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Wet with the rain, the Blue, 
Wet with the rain, the Gray. 

Sadly, but not with upbraiding, 
The generous deed was done; 
In the storm of the years that are fading, 
No braver battle was won : 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Under the blossoms, the Blue, 
Under the garlands, the Gray. 

No more shall the war-ery sever, 
Or the winding rivers be red; 
They banish our anger forever 

When they laurel the graves of our dead: 
Under the sod and dew, 

Waiting the judgment day; 
Love and tears for the Blue, 
Tears and love for the Gray. 

— Francis Miles Finch. 



144 THE BLUE B OK 



THANKSGIVING DAY 



Song: "Thanksgiving Day," (Tune: "Safely 
Through Another Week"). 



"Come, ye thankful people, come, 
Raise the song of harvest home : 
All is safely gathered in, 
Ere the winter storms begin. 
God, our Maker, doth provide, 
For our wants to be supplied; 
Come to God's own temple, come, 
Raise the song of harvest home. 

All the world is God's own field, 
Fruit unto His praise to yield; 
Wheat and tares together sown, 
Unto joy or sorrow grown : 
First the blade and then the ear, 
Then the full corn shall appear: 
Grant, harvest Lord, that we 
Wholesome grain and pure may be." 



Scripture Reading: Psalm 124. 
Illustration: Origin of Thanksgiving Day. 



Thanksgiving Day is an annual festival of thanks- 
giving for the mercies of the closing year. Practically 
it is a National harvest festival, fixed by the procla- 
mation of the president and the governors of states, 



THE BLUE BOOK 145 

and ranks as a legal holiday. In 1879 the Episcopal 
church formally recognized the civil government's 
authority to appoint such a feast, and in 1888 the 
Roman Catholic church also decided to honor a festi- 
val which had been so long nearly universally ob- 
served — though nowhere with such zest as in the New 
England States, where it ranks as a great annual 
family festival, taking the place which in England 
is accorded to Christmas. The earliest harvest festival 
in the United States was kept by the Pilgrim Fathers 
in Plymouth in 1861. Congress recommended days 
of thanksgiving annually during the Revolution, and 
in 1874 for the return of peace — as did President 
Madison In 1815. Washington appointed such a day 
in 1789 after the adoption of the Constitution, and 
in 1795 for the general benefits and welfare of the 
nation. Since 1858 the presidents have always issued 
proclamations appointing the last Thursday in No- 
vember as Thanksgiving Day. 



146 THE BLUE BOOK 



WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY 



Song: "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." 
Scripture Reading. 
Illustration : Life Outline. 



George Washington was born in Westmoreland 
County, Virginia, February 22, 1732, and died at his 
home, Mount Vernon, in Virginia, December 14, 1799. 
At the age of sixteen he left school to become a sur- 
veyor. When not much more than a boy, he showed 
his aptitude for military affairs. His early career 
is interwoven with the history of the country. He 
was the leader of her armies in the successful fight to 
secure freedom from the British rule and the first of the 
long' line of this country's presidents. Washington 
was a man of strong character and unselfish patriot- 
ism. Firmness of purpose and devotion to duty guided 
him through his eventful life. Reverses did not make 
him despair, nor did success make him over confident. 
During the darkest hours of war, when slander and 
intrigue were against him, he remained steadfast. 
The successful Revolution exalted him above all others 
of his countrymen, and he might have grasped power 
for himself, but he was still a firm and devoted pa- 
triot. His character is not surpassed by that of any 
hero in history. 

— Adapted. 

Washington. 

When General Washington, the immortal savior of 
his country, had closed his career in the French and 
Indian War, and had become a member of the House 



THE BLUE BOOK 147 

of Burgesses, the speaker, Robinson, was directed, by 
a vote of the house, to return their thanks to that 
gentleman, on behalf of the colony for the distin- 
guished military service which he had rendered his 
country. As soon as Washington took his seat, Mr. 
Robinson, in obedience to this order, and following 
the impulse of his own generous and grateful heart, 
discharged the duty with great dignity, but with such 
warmth of coloring and strength of expression as 
entirely confounded the young hero. He rose to ex- 
press his acknowledgements for the honor; but such 
were his trepidation and confusion, that he could not 
give utterance to a single syllable. He blushed, stam- 
mered and trembled, for a second; when the speaker 
relieved him, by a stroke of address that would have 
done honor to Louis XIV, in his proudest and hap- 
piest moments. "Sit down, Mr. Washington," said 
he, with a conciliating smile; "your modesty is equal 
to your valor; and that surpasses the power of any 
language I possess." 

Eulogy on Washington. 

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts 
of his countrymen, he was second to none in the hum- 
ble and endearing scenes of private life. Pious, just, 
humane, temperate, sincere, uniform, dignified, and 
commanding, his example was as edifying to all around 
him as were the effects of that example lasting. 

To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors 
kind, to the dear object of his affections exemplarily 
tender. Correct throughout, vice shuddered in his 
presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand. 
The purity of his private character gave effulgence 
to his public virtues. 

His last scene comported with the tenor of his life. 



148 THE BLUE B OK 

Although in extreme pain, not a sigh escaped him; 
and with undisturbed serenity, he closed his well- 
spent life. Such was the man America has lost ! Such 
was the man for whom our nation mourns! 

Methinks I see his august image, and hear calling 
from his venerable lips, these deep -sinking words : 

"Cease, sons of America, to mourn our separation. 
Go on and confirm your wisdom the fruits of our 
knowing councils, joint effort and common dangers. 
Reverence religion ; diffuse knowledge throughout your 
land; patronize the arts and sciences; let liberty and 
order be inseparable companions; control party spirit, 
the bane of free government; observe good faith to 
and cultivate peace with, all nations; shut up every 
avenue to foreign influence; contract rather than ex- 
tend national connection; rely on yourselves only; be 
American in thought and deed. Thus will you give 
immortality to that union which was the constant 
object of my terrestial labors; thus will you preserve 
undisturbed to the latest posterity the felicity of a 
people to me most dear; and thus will you supply (if 
my happiness be aught to you) the only vacancy in 
the round of pure bliss high Heaven bestows." 

— Henry Lee. 



nmSSSSf 0F CONGRESS 




